


Watchers

by Santa_Cruz



Category: Firewatch (Video Game), Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Santa_Cruz/pseuds/Santa_Cruz
Summary: It's the summer of 1997...After her world fell apart, Chloe attempts to move on with her life after Rachel's death. She packed a bag and left her hometown behind for a job that will leave her alone and isolated for months on end... The first person hired didn't make it through the two-day hike to get there. The second only lasted a few days.A voice over a two-way radio will become Chloe's lifeline when things start to go terribly wrong, deep in Shoshone National Park.Chloe fills the role of Henry in Firewatch with a few changes.
Comments: 34
Kudos: 31





	1. Day 0

**1994**

Arcadia Bay, Oregon, USA

Abandoned sawmill just outside the town's border.

At a secret indie grunge concert one night, you see a girl you recognize from school. Rachel, a nineteen-year-old with long, strawberry blonde hair, is looking at you. You're surprised that she's here; this grunge scene was not what you thought she was into. On the upper deck of the abandoned sawmill, she stands just past the doorway behind two skeevy dudes... one of which wants to kick the shit out of you because you spilled beer on him and it hurt his feelings.

"Hey dickhead!" she yells at them and they turn around. It gives you enough time to punch the asshole in your way and you both run downstairs. She grabs your hand and you both enter the main floor and merge into the thrashing crowd. You find yourself with her at the front of the stage, looking up at Firewalk playing. Both of you start jumping around and dancing. You smile, laugh, sing and shout. You haven't felt this way in over two years...

You wake up in your bed after sneaking back into your house from the concert. You hear your mother telling you breakfast is ready and you're going to be late for school. You roll out of bed.

After another conversation with your mother about how she thinks you're slipping in school and getting into trouble, she makes you get a ride with your new stepfather. He treats you like a military cadet. The man has no idea how to be a father and thinks that ordering you around and busting your balls is how to do it.

He drops you off at school after spouting another lecture that you completely zoned out from. 

You put your hand on the school door to open it and the girl you saw and talked to for the first time at the concert runs into you…

"Oh, good!" Rachel takes your hand and pulls you into the building. "You're here."

There are days that you think that it would've been better if you'd never met at all… The pain is unbearable.

=======================================

**Spring of 1997**

You spend your days putting up missing person fliers, not knowing what to do and wondering why no one cares. You think about the last day you were with her and your last words. You've asked yourself a million times, 'What happened? Did she really leave without telling anyone? What did I do for her to leave me? She wouldn't do that. Did I say something to her to be mad at me? We had a plan to leave for California together... I wanted to leave with her… to be with her… where are you, love?'

Months pass with no sign or word from Rachel. Then, one day, your life changes for the worse. You now know why the police were around your secret hangout spot that morning. Rachel never ran off without you. In fact, she was always so close to you, some days, just feet away. You fall to the floor, wailing... your heart once again compresses in pain at the loss of a loved one. Rachel Amber, the girl you fell in love with, was murdered...

=======================================

**Summer of 1997**

You've been placed on medication to deal with your depression. It doesn't work; you haven't really tried to stay on it for them to work. You spend your days drunk or stoned to deal with the pain. Your strained relationship with your mother has worsened. Your stepfather has given up and wants you out of the house...

You sit on a bench by the lighthouse reading the paper and see an article about Rachel's murder and the court case. You find out so many things about the girl you loved and wonder if she even loved you at all. She had so many secrets and had loved others behind your back. You once again feel the pain in your heart. You look down upon the town and wish it would turn to glass. You hate everything about it. Your father is dead, your once best friend left, your mother doesn't care for you anymore and the girl you had stupidly loved, and for some reason still love, was murdered. You need to leave, now, it feels like you can't breathe. You light up a joint, take a long hit and wait for the effects to kick in. You see an old carving on a tree stump that you and a former best friend had carved years ago as kids. 'C.P + M.C.' You turn away and look out at the ocean... You wonder if it would be easier to just jump and end it all. The pages of the paper that you were reading start to fly away in the wind. You don't care, this place is a dump anyway. You watch as a large sheet just floats off the edge and disappears from view and again, you think it would be easier than to feel all this pain. One sheet flies around and hits you in the face. You tear it away and just as you're going to rip it up out of anger, you see an ad on the paper. You read it twice and you decide to take the first step. You tear it out and walk back to your truck. You glance at your watch, your mother would be working and so would your step-asshole. You have time.

After one phone call on a payphone at the gas station, you park your truck in the driveway and quickly get into your house. There, you go up to the attic and retrieve the gear your father once used. It's old, but it will have to do. An hour later you're packed, you only needed one bag.

You stand in your room one last time and look down at the missing person poster on your desk. You feel your heart starting to hurt but you quickly bury the feelings away and push them down. You grab what cash you had to your name, a photo from beside your bed and one under it in a lockbox. You turn, and before you leave, you see a box on the shelf. You grab it, your late father's old Polaroid camera and what unused film is left in the box. You leave your room for the last time then tape a note to the fridge for your mother. You get in your beat-up truck and drive away, leaving your hometown of Arcadia Bay behind... 

_'Sometimes, I feel like I've got no reason to stay. Don't be surprised, Chloe, if one day, I'm just out of here.'_

After spending the night sleeping in your truck off to the side of the highway, you arrive in the early morning and park in a wooded area parking lot. You get out of your vehicle, lock your truck, grab your hiking pack and say goodbye to your ride. You walk up to the information board to see the map of Shoshone National Park and the Thorofare sector.

There's some notification posters next to it, 'Do Not Forget to Check-in and Check-out.' _Whatever_. 'No Fireworks.' _How about me lighting up to blaze, bitch?_ 'You're in Their Country, Learn to Live with Bears.' _Motherfuckers would be wise not to fuck with me._ 'Thorofare Trail is not recommended to inexperienced hikers.' _Fuck you, I can do it._

You take one last look at your truck, tighten your pack and start your journey...

=======================================

**1994**

You remember her twirling around under a street lamp, happy and full of life. You hear her voice again, _'I love nights after a show!... Let's leave…(her laugh) Don't you just feel like everything's possible?... Let's leave. For real… Chloe! What would it take to convince you?...'_

The next moment changed your life forever.

=======================================

**Summer of 1997 - Shoshone National Park**

You jump down a small ledge on the forest pathway. The sun is high in the sky and you have a good sweat going on. You haven't noticed but it's the first time in a few hours that your head is clear and your thoughts aren't running rampant. You see a small signpost that states and how much further you have to travel. You continue on, looking at your surroundings and the high mountains that tower over the forest.

=======================================

**1996**

Rachel had told you on a train ride that she wanted to be a model. You could see why, she's so beautiful. One day you look at her new portfolio that she had brought over. Rachel said that some friends had taken her picture for her and for their assignments. You notice a page that is not like the others. They're more precise, with better lighting, you wonder who the person that took these was. You don't get the chance to ask, she wraps her arms around you and whispers in your ear. You close her portfolio and place it on the bed next to you. It eventually falls to the floor, kicked mistakenly by feet intertwined with one another.

_'I need you, Chloe.'_

=======================================

**Summer of 1997 - Shoshone National Park**

By the light of an old gas mantle lantern, you draw a doodle in your journal of your truck with a raccoon driving right next to your entry of what you've seen on the hike that day. You look up at the stars and your mind wanders... you hear her again. You try to push it away, push it back down. You close your eyes and clench your jaw as the pain enters your heart once more.

_'I've always loved the stars.'_

You drop your journal and quickly light up a joint. Nights are usually the worst for your mind to wander. You count the seconds until you feel your thoughts going somewhere else for a while. You eventually fall back onto your sleeping bag with tear-stained cheeks, looking up at the clouds as they are slowly covering the stars.

_'Maybe there's a reason we pretend? Maybe the lies we tell each other are less horrible than the truths we keep hidden?... Chloe. Look at me. Look at me, sweetheart. It's going to be okay.'_

_'DAD!'_

It's early morning. You've already packed up and are back on the trail, eating a granola bar. You cross a small gap in the path by using a log as a bridge to get across. Once over, you notice a deer grazing a few yards away.

You watch for a moment then remember the items you've packed. You take out your dad's Polaroid camera and take a picture. The deer looks up, hearing the sound of the camera and runs away into the bush. You look at the developing film, thinking that it could be a nice hobby to take up while you're here. _It is nature n' shit_. You place the picture in-between your journal pages and continue on your way.

=======================================

**1996**

Plans to run away with Rachel were delayed. You both see that finishing school is important and you can wait it out because it's easier with Rachel around. You notice that she's spending a lot of time at school doing extracurricular activities. You want her to spend more time with you because you hate being away from her. She says that she's doing important things for her future and it will be worth it for both of you in the end. You reluctantly agree and don't push it, you still hate being away from her and she promises the both of you will do something together on the weekend. It's the last time you ever see her.

=======================================

**Summer of 1997 - Shoshone National Park**

There's a full moon tonight as you arrive late at your destination. You look up at the national park's watchtower that's silhouetted by the moonlight. You think to yourself, ' _Home Shit Home.'_ You walk up the four flights of stairs and notice some half-assed repairs to the railings. You don't care; your legs burn, you're tired, your pack weighs like a ton and you can't wait to take off your boots that have given you blisters. You just want to fall on the bed and pass out after the hike to get here.

You open the unlocked door and look inside. You're hit with an old wood smell. It's extra dark in the room with all the weather shutters closed but you see a red, glowing switch on the wall labeled 'Generator.' You flick it up. You hear the tower's generator come to life outside. The one ceiling light in the room turns on, giving everything a pale, yellow hue with heavy shadows.

You notice as you take off your pack that there are a few boxes marked 'Supplies' around the place and a Forest Service Handbook on a desk, along with a few dead flies. You feel the back of your shirt covered in sweat. It gives you some relief, feeling the coolness of the night air on it coming through the doorway. You feel so light on your feet with the weight finally off your back. You crack your neck and you're slightly startled to hear a voice in the room...

"Hello, Two Fork Tower," a female voice greets you.

You look down at the small desk and see a two-way radio on a charger.

You pick it up as the voice greets you again, "Two Forks Tower, this is Thorofare Tower... come in."

_Who the fuck is this?_ You press the radio button to speak, "Uhm, Hey."

The voice replies, "Soo, you want to give your real name or a nickname, or do you want a new identity?..."

You, confused, reply, "What?"

"It's a tradition up here. You get to choose a name, ooor one of us chooses it for you. Sooo?"

You, not giving a shit because you're tired, sigh, "Dude, I don't care." You notice a moth flying around your ceiling light and you close the door.

"Hmm, that's no fun, come on," the woman encourages you.

You're not in the mood to play a game, so you monotonously reply, "Chloe..."

"Pff, fiiine, don't play. Well, Chloe, I'm Angel, your lead firewatcher on the mountain."

Chloe looked around the room and slowly blinked. She tiredly sighed again, "Yeah, that's what the guy said on the phone."

"So, what's wrong with you?" Angel asked.

Chloe furrowed her brow. _What the fuck?_ She thought it wasn't best to swear at the person who might be her new boss since she technically just started the job, so she replied with only some attitude in her voice, "Excuse me?"

"People take this job to get away from something, or to start over," Angel stated. Chloe looked around the room, feeling a little uncomfortable. It then quickly changed to being pissed off. Angel continued, "So which one is it?"

Chloe's attitude grew. _What the fuck is wrong with you?_ She lightly growled, annoyed, trying to hold her anger. _I'm not dealing with this shit_. "Look, I just hiked up this freakin' mountain. I don't really know what you're up to." Chole held her tongue on the next words and decided not to say them. _Don't get fired._

Angel replied, flipping the question around, "You wanna hazard a guess at why I'm up here?"

_Oh, Jesus, I don't give a fuck._ Chloe controlled her anger and replied tiredly, "Fine, then can I sleep?"

Angel replied, "Sure, Sista. Now, go ahead." For some reason, Chloe could tell that the young woman was smiling from the sound of her voice. The tired hiker randomly came up with the first thing in her head, not giving a fuck, "You've killed three boyfriends. You're a black widow and you're out here until the heat dies down and then you'll kill again."

"Ouu, not bad, not bad at all."

_What the fuck ever._ "Okay. I sleep now?"

"Nooot quite. Now you."

_No, fuck this._ "Nope."

Angel didn't give up, "Let's see… I don't know anything about you, but nine times out of ten people out here to run away from something."

Chloe clenched her jaw and squeezed the radio in her hand. _Fuck you._ She wouldn't give in and let her know why she was out here. The blue-headed punk replied in a monotone voice, "Is that it?"

Again, Angel didn't give up, "Am I at least close?"

Chloe had enough. "G'night."

Angel huffed into a small chuckle, knowing that she'd pushed the newcomer. "Good night, Chloe. Welcome to the watch."


	2. Day 1

**DAY 1**

Chloe sat at the desk, writing in her journal as a [ small radio played](https://youtu.be/8-r-V0uK4u0) an Oregon alternative station. She had unpacked a few things and opened up the weather shutters and a couple of windows when she got around to getting up. The two pictures she had taken were put on display in front of her and her father's camera found a new home on the desk. Her two-way radio squawked a greeting from her new pain in the ass co-worker.

"Good morning, Chloe. Well, I guess, good afternoon," Angel lightly chuckled. "You probably slept like the dead. Anyway, there's still a few hours of daylight to get some work in. I can see you at your desk, sooo, call me when you're ready."

Chloe glanced up and looked out into the forest. _Creepy much?_ She picked up the two-way radio. _Be nice on your first day of work_. "Hey, sorry. Guess I slept in." 

Angel replied sarcastically, "You got a relaxing, what, fourteen hours of sleep? Whew!"

"Yeah, Jesus. I guess it's, what, two?"

"4:30... pm the clock is above your head."

Chloe looked up seeing the time. "Auhh, sorry about that." _Great, I already fucked up._

"Don't worry about it. The hike up takes some time to recover. But now that you're up let me quickly get you acquainted with the job.”

 _Jesus lady, it's like at the end of the day, work time is over._ "Okay, I'm new to the park. I would like to look around. Get the lay of the land, so to speak." Chloe walked around the room and looked through each half windowed wall at the view.

"Good, but we need to get you situated with a few things first. So let's start."

"Can I make myself a cup of coffee first?"

"You can do that after."

Chloe squinted her eyes, looking out a window. "Hey, I see your lookout tower."

"Great, okay, good. Do you see me flipping you off while Shoshone wilderness burns down thanks to someone who didn't learn the job?"

Chloe smirked. "Mmm, no. You're too far away."

"Well, I am. Let's get started." Chloe’s smirk turned into a smile with a light chuckle. _Sassy._ Angel began her lesson, "There's a thing in the middle of your room with a round map on it. Do you see it?"

Chloe turned around, looking at the small, high square table and the large, flat round metal device on it. She automatically replied with sarcasm, "Yeah it's right in the middle of the room, my toe this morning had an up close and personal meeting. Thanks for putting that there, by the way.”

"You’re welcome.” Chloe knew by Angel’s tone she was smiling again. _Hmm, she can take a small bit of backtalk._

Angel continued, “K, this is the Osborne Fire Finder, invented in 1914 by W.B…"

Chloe elongated her answer, "…Osborne?"

“Ou, you’re a quick learner, look at you."

Chloe lightly shook her head with a smile. _Smartass._

"You use this to spot, you guessed it, fi—" Angel's tone in her voice quickly changed. "What the hell?"

Chloe's smile dropped. "What is it?" _Shit, did I say something wrong?_

Angel seemed distracted but tried to continue on with the lesson, "Nothing. Um, you use this to—" Her voice changed again to annoyance, "Oh, are you fucking serious!"

"Augh, sorry?…" Chloe replied looking at Angel’s tower. _What the hell did I do? I was just-_ _Are bosses allowed to swear at me? Is she my boss?_ Chloe was taken out of her thoughts.

"Out your west-facing window…" Angel’s voice seemed to be pissed. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Chloe turned and looked out each window. _Where the fuck is west? Fuck, I should've learned this shit before I got up here._

"Are those goddamn fireworks?!" Angel asked.

Chloe didn't answer, she was still wondering what way was west as she kept looking out each windowed wall as if some internal compass was going to say 'Yo dumbass, this way is west.'

With Chloe not replying to Angel's question, she pushed for an answer, "I need you to confirm. Do you see them?"

 _I did bring up a compass, shit it's still packed._ Chloe heard off in the distance a small bang, she looked out the opposite window and walked up to it.

"Seriously, are you seeing this?" Angel asked.

Chloe saw a firework go off a couple of meters up from the treeline. "Oh Shit! That's not legal, right?"

"Uuuh, no!" the watcher sarcastically replied. "You need to get down there right now and stop them. The Fire Danger level is through the roof!"

Chloe looked at her two-way, confused. "Is that really my job?" _Thought I was just to look out the window n' report shit._

Angel quickly replied, "Your job is whatever I say it is-" Chloe leaned on a hip and she furrowed her brow. _Oh, really._ Angel continued, "-the closest Ranger is, like, two days away. Go down there and set them straight."

 _Chloe turned around and raised her eyebrows, looking at Angel’s tower._ "Like, kick the shit out of them?" _Jesus, I didn't realize I would be bustin' heads._

Angel quickly replied, "No, no-no-no-no! Jesus, no."

Chloe retorted, "What? I'm not a cop. It's not like I've got a rulebook over here!" _I dunno what the fuck to do?_ Chloe then spotted the Fire Services Handbook on her desk that was under a can of cola with the remnants of a joint’s ashes around the rim. _Shit, I should’ve read that._

Angel took a step back to settle Chloe down. "Just make sure they don't do it again. Take their fireworks."

Chloe replied with a sigh and rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine."

"And don't feed anyone a knuckle sandwich."

"Alright, alright, I'll be nice."

"Make them knock it off without smoking a joint with them, okay?"

Chloe was going to reply then stopped herself. She glanced at the woman’s tower again. _Jesus, how long has she been watching me? Seriously creepy._ "Right." Chloe turned off the radio, grabbed her pack, the key to the tower, a map of the area, and her ballcap.

"Get a move on. You’re gonna need a rope to get down the shale hill between you and the lake. What you need is in the supply cache on the way there. They’re big yellow boxes just off the path. The padlock code is 1-2-3-4... It's actually that for all of them in the park."

"That’s secure," Chloe replied sarcastically.

"You, shush," Angel quickly replied, knowing the code number was not a secure one.

Chloe smiled as she walked down the stairs, taking out her map and compass.

\-------------------

Chloe reached the faded yellow wooden supply cache and put in the secure padlock code. _Kinda feels like a treasure chest_. She lifted up the swing top door and looked inside. A map of the area was stapled to the top show her, her location, and a forest safety poster next to it. Chloe looked in the lower box and took out the rope that Angel said would be there. She then noticed a big pine cone and a granola bar, with a written note underneath it.

_06/06/96_

_Ron,_

_Hey man, this new guy couldn't take it, so I locked up his lookout and put some stuff in the box._

_Found one of those bars you liked._

_Hiking into the park, but let's get fucked when I'm back_.

_-Dave_

Chloe took out her radio. "Hey, I found a note to a guy named Ron for some guy, Dave."

Angel replied, "That's probably Dave Gaskill. He's kinda nuts."

Chloe took the new information in stride, "Oookay?"

"He's harmless, but yeah, one of those, y'know, fall-off-the-grid and eat bugs for a week type. Think he’s kinda like a doomsday prepper, which is kinda weird if you ask me… but is kinda what the job attracts."

Chloe thought of her mother’s garage and the amount of food David had stocked with it. The memory hit too close to home and what she was trying to forget, so she decided to change the subject. "People just stuff these things with old food, too? That's how you get bears." Chloe looked around then swiped the strawberry granola bar. _Mine._

Angel replied, "Those boxes are bear-proof. I wouldn't worry about it."

Chloe closed the box and answered with her mouth full, "Got the rope."

"K, let me know if you run into any issues."

"Uhh, Roger?" _That's a thing they say on the radio, right?_

Angel replied with a small quick chuckle, she seemed to know what Chloe asked herself. "Yeah, Roger. Over and out."

Chloe latched the radio to her belt and headed down a path, listening in the distance as another firework went off.

\-------------------

A few minutes later, Chloe walked to a small clearing and at the edge of a small steep hill. She noticed a large rock with a rope tied around it and a carabiner to clip onto a few feet away.

__

_Fuck I should've done like a course or somethin'._ She carefully looked over the edge with a few slick stones sliding down. "Fuck." _That's a long way down._ Chloe went back to her radio. "This shale cliff is steep. How do you expect me to get down this?"

Angel replied, "I don't remember it being that bad. It's not even named on our topos. It's not a cliff, it’s more like a gulch."

"Yeah, whatever you want to call it, it's a fucking long way down and made of rocks that are sharp as knives!"

Angel replied back with a smile in her voice, "You wanna give it a name?"

Chloe looked down the drop and looked at her rope. _I should've taken a course, fuck this rope looks old._ "How about Cripple Gulch-" She stepped away from the ledge again, "-just east of I'm Fucked If I Falls."

Angel chuckled a little, "It's not that bad. Just make a loop and attach it to the carabiner on the post n’ lower yourself down."

 _Easier said than done._ Chloe hooked the looped end onto the carabiner and looked down over the edge.

Angel helped to get Chloe moving along, "Just take it slow… but not too slow, cause you know… stupid idiots setting off fireworks in a dense, dry forest that can go up in seconds and wipe out everything in the park. No pressure, though." 

"Fuck," Chloe replied to herself, feeling her adrenaline spike as she tossed the rope over the gulch.

Angel added, "Let me know when you're down… and if you break your leg on your first day, or any day while you're here, I will not be pleased."

"Yeah, sure," Chloe replied, looking at the bottom. She latched her radio to her belt and grabbed the rope. "Fuuuck." Chloe turned around and slowly repelled off the ledge as small, sharp shale stones fell away from the ridge with every footing.

Chloe took another few deep breaths as she let the rope run slowly through her hands. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the bottom approaching her. _Almost the-_ Her thoughts were abruptly stopped when the rope snapped and she fell the rest of the way, screaming. "AHHH!"

Chloe landed with a thud on her back, wincing in pain. "AuUUuUuuh." She took a moment, wondering how hurt she was. She wiggled her toes first, waiting for more pain to come. It didn't. She moved each leg slightly then rolled to her side. _Well, I'm not fuckin' paralyzed._ She picked up her radio that had come off her belt and got to her feet. She inspected her body, not finding anything seriously wrong. _Well, fuck me,_ she said to herself as she looked up at the gulch. "Motherfucking rope, what kind of asshole leaves an old rope to use, motherfuckers trying to kill me?" Chloe sighed and got back on the radio, she moved her neck side to side hearing a pop, "Ow, Hey."

"What's wrong?" Angel said, hearing Chloe’s voice.

Chloe quickly replied, "My shitty boss almost got me killed." _I just fell off the motherfucking cliff, bitch!_ Chloe held her anger and toned her level of attitude down, "Cripple Gulch got me."

Angel replied, a little confused that something actually happened. "What happened?"

"My rope snapped."

"Okay, first, your boss is awesome. Second, I said if you break a leg I wouldn't be pleased that also applies if you hurt yourself anywhere. And third, Jesus! Are you okay?"

Chloe heard the worry in her voice even though she tried to hide it with jokes and sarcasm. "I fell and landed on my butt."

There was a pause over the radio before Angel replied, "You didn't break anything, did you? Chlo?"

The top corner of Chloe's lip curled up a little. There were only two people in the world she let them call her that, she didn’t mind Angel saying it. Chloe played it up with her injury, smiling into the radio. "Auuughh, my butt is gonna need medical attention."

Angel replied, going back to her sarcasm, "Do I have to send the proctologist? He’s on-call here twenty-four seven." 

"No, I think I'll make it."

"Well be careful for Christ's sake, okay? It will take a while to get help to you if you do seriously hurt yourself."

"Well, blame it on the fucker who left a piece of shit rope in the box."

Angel hummed, "Yeah, I already started an accident report about your fall."

"Great, on the job for, oooh over an hour, and I'm already causing issues."

"It's not an issue for you to say something is not in working order. Seriously, we should never have failings with our equipment,” Angel mumbled. “Stupid budget cuts. The gear is supposed to be inspected at the beginning of each season and if something is worn or broken we have to report it. There should be no reason for a rope to snap."

"Yeah, well, finish off your report, and I’ll continue on… limpin’ my way down."

"Are you sure you don’t want the doc? He’s good at getting things out of people’s asses, like sticks.”

Chloe chuckled, “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“Roger," Angel replied with a chuckle of her own.

"Roger, over and out."

\-------------------

Chloe had set off again towards the lake, still hearing fireworks go off every few minutes. She came to another 'gulch' and looked at the post. She had no rope to use.

"Ah hey, Angel? There’s another tie off point off here, just a few minutes from the other one."

Angel lightly chuckled, "Ah, you ready to get back on that horse?"

Chloe smiled, "Not really, but I do have ‘a one fall per day’ as my quota. Uhm, I have no rope to repel. Is there another way to the lake I can take?"

"What? There was supposed to be two coils left in the cache, you didn’t take both?"

“There was only one.” Chloe heard her sigh.

"Give me a sec." The woman hummed quietly. "Look at your map. Head west from where you are and you won’t have to use any, y'know, 'climbing equipment.’"

Chloe glanced at her map. "K, thanks." _I should have learned this shit_. She looked up in the direction and headed down another way, stuffing her map into her side pocket.

\-------------------

The Punk walked into a small open field and spoke over the radio, as she shielded her eyes from the sun, "This is a hella nice camping spot down here."

Angel replied with a small light chuckle. "’Hella?’ Ah, yeah, Jonesy Lake area is a great spot."

Chloe walked up to a boulder, spotting a few things. "There’s a bunch of empty beer cans tossed all over the place."

"Really? Are they the ones setting off the fireworks too?"

"I don't know, maybe, I guess it's them? I found where they’ve stopped for a bit."

“Are they around?”

“I don’t see them.”

"Dammit, can you please pick up their trash?"

Chloe sighed and talked to herself, "Jesus so now I'm a fucking garbage man, too?" She replied over the radio, "Yep."

"Thank you, I can't understand people just tossing their shit on the ground."

Chloe crushed the discarded empties with her foot. "Yeah, I get yah." It took her just a couple of minutes but she cleaned up the area then walked towards a smoldering fire by a large overhanging boulder. She raised her eyebrows when she spotted the whiskey bottle. "They left a half a bottle of whiskey." _Shit, I shouldn't have told her that, could've of nabbed it with anyone knowing… fuck it._ She put it in her pack. _My payment for cleaning up their garbage._

Angel replied, slightly pissed, "Possible drunk pyromaniacs, great."

"They also made a campfire," Chloe said as she started to stomp it out as best as she could.

Angel's annoyance grew. "You know, they color-coded the Fire Danger signs in case people were illiterate. Any kid knows red means no. I guess the Services didn’t take into account the entitled and the just plain stupid."

Chloe hummed, agreeing, “Aren’t they one and the same?” She looked around the area for anything else left behind, then spotted something and walked over. "They left their packs here, bright red and green plaid."

"Don't touch with them, the last thing we need are hikers saying we stolen something or claiming that we were picking through their packs."

Chloe gave one a kick then turned away spotting something else. "I found the fireworks." A small bundle was placed on a rock next to another empty beer can. "Hmm, wonder where they bought these?"

"Take ‘em,” Angel said. “Since they’re illegal in both Oregon and Washington, well, you can’t have anything that flies more than six feet in Oregon. But you still can’t use them in the friggin’ park, like, ever. I would say they got ‘em in California. So we probably got some out of state campers."

Chloe placed them in her pack. "Hmm." She spotted some clothes. "Found some of their clothes." Chloe looked in the direction of the path leading down to the lake. "Uhh, what if they're, like, naked?"

Angel flatly replied, "Won't that be exciting. Not scared of seein’ a little butt, are yah?"

Chloe replied, "That depends on the butt and who it's attached to. I don't wanna have an image of a hairy butt burned into my skull.” Chloe then added with a smirk, “Small bubble butt though..."

Angel hummed as Chloe continued further down the path. "Okay, uhmm, just tell to stop it if they have anymore and take them, and also tell them to please pick up their garbage, then head on back."

Chloe walked up to a fallen tree that she had to duck under to get by, she noticed a bra hanging off one of the branches. "Well, I know one of them will have a butt maybe to my liking. Found a bra." 

"Ahh, okay, a nudie pyromaniac… try to remain professional."

Chloe walked further. "Oh damn, found a pair of pink panties on the trail." She heard music playing close by.

"Easy there, don't act like a teen seeing a naked girl for the first time."

Chloe kept walking. _I am a teen and it will be the second time I've seen a girl naked_. "I know it's two girls now, found another set of undies.” Chloe then added, “It's like a weird striptease."

Angel chuckled over the radio and made fun, "Can you handle that?" Chloe didn't reply quickly enough, and Angel spoke again, "Again, remain professional when you see them."

"Hey, the job listing didn't say I need to act professionally, if I recall," Chloe smiled. “So I may shout out ‘boobies!’”

"I know this will be tough for you, but try to pick your tongue up off the ground when you see them-" She elonged her next words, "-and, do, your, job. Or at least put on sunglasses so they can’t see you staring at their... assets."

Chloe chuckled and walked into a clearing with the lake in front of her. She saw the two girls hanging out in the water by a small island of large rocks about fifty feet away from the shoreline. They had sparklers in their hands, waving them around, laughing and splashing each other. Chloe spoke into her radio. "At the lake, they're in the water, skinny dipping... Yeeeah, they're drunk teens."

Off in the distance, Chloe was spotted by one of the girls. Their voices were not happy, see her there. "Is that a guy over there?!?" One of them asked.

Angel overheard and chuckled. "Oh, boy. Yeah, enjoy dealing with that."

Chloe smirked and squinted at the two in the water. She raised her arm to shield herself from the glaring sun that was in her eyes and reflecting off the water. She couldn't directly see the two as she loudly spoke over the music playing on a portable radio sitting on a rock next to her. "Hey, ladies, you can’t have fireworks here, alright?!"

One of the teens replied with attitude, "Well, you can’t stare at my tits, alright?!"

Her friend replied, "Victoria!"

Victoria looked at her friend. "What?! It’s some loser in the woods who thinks he can tell us what to do while getting a look, it’s not a Ranger.” She looked back at Chloe and scoffed, “Why the fuck do guys think it’s okay to just stare at girls?"

Chloe retorted, "I can't see you from here!" Chloe glanced at the sun, _it's too bright_.

The other girl replied, "We know you're a peeping Tom! How long have you been standing over there?"

Victoria replied, "Oh my God, is that what you are?!" She then spoke to her friend again, "He's probably going to jerk off in the bushes somewhere. Fucking weirdo loser."

Chloe clenched her jaw and grabbed the radio, blaring pop music.

“Taylor, he took your radio!” Victoria said, pointing.

Taylor yelled, "Hey! put that down! Seriously! It’s expensive!"

Chloe didn't care about the cost of the stereo. She yelled back at them, "Stop with the fucking fireworks and your sparklers!"

The two teens put their sparklers out in the water. "Put it down! We won't light any more!" Taylor said.

Victoria replied with her voice lower, but Chloe still heard her as she turned down the volume of the radio, "Ugh, this jerk is probably gonna wait for us to get out of the water, and play with himself again.”

"Gross, come on, let just swim down a bit further."

Victoria looked at Chloe who stared back at them. "Fucking skeevy ass loser, probably has a small dick! We’ll just light more when he’s gone.”

"Fucking weirdo," Taylor added.

“I swear if he stole our stuff I’m gonna report him."

Chloe had enough. _Fuck this, I can't bust heads, but I'm sure as shit not gonna take this crap from these two bitches_. She tossed the stereo in the water, turned her back from them, and walked away.

“No!” Taylor yelled out.

"You asshole!" Victoria yelled out.

Chloe turned around, yelling herself, "Light another fucking firework, and it won't be your stereo I wreck!"

"Oh fuck you, psycho!"

Taylor added, "Yeah!"

"You'll fucking pay for that! You can't just harass us in the woods!" She turned to Taylor, "Come one let's get out of here."

Chloe held up her middle finger, and the two girls turned and swam down the lake. Chloe turned and decided to take another path. _Fuckin’ bitches!_ She took the time to calm herself, not wanting to unleash her anger at Angel, she knew that the woman didn't deserve it.

Angel heard Chloe press the radio button but didn't talk. She spoke. "Hey, you okay?"

Chloe didn't reply right away as she crossed another small log acting as a bridge. "I might’ve gotten a little pissed at them."

Angel carefully asked, "What's 'a little pissed' for you?"

"Some of their, uhmm, personal property took a swim." Chloe knew it wasn't the right thing to do, especially once she heard the disappointment in Angel's voice. _Fuck those bitches though._

"Augh, okay," Angel replied.

Chloe quickly retorted, "Well, I can't really do anything about it now, it’s done."

"Right…” Angel moved on with the work. Chloe was right, what was done was done. She would probably hear about it tomorrow from one of the Rangers when the teens put in a complaint. “Thanks for dealing with them," Angel added.

"Yeah, whatev," Chloe replied, taking another deep breath to control her anger.

“Seriously, I mean that. Head on back to your post, K?”

Chloe felt weird thinking that there would’ve been an argument with her boss. When it didn’t occur she started to feel a little bad at letting Angel down. "Ah, yeah. I'm... gonna head back up another trail."

"K, over and out." Angel didn't add anything else. Chloe looked at her radio then up at the trail as she put her radio back on her belt. _Fuck, already messed up._

\-------------------

Chloe followed a rocky path and entered a canyon to get back with a small stream that ran adjacent to her. She knelt and took off her ball cap, running her fingers through her blue hair. She placed her hand in the water, letting it run over her then brought it up to the back of her neck, feeling the coolness. The sun was going down over the mountains. It was hot and extremely dry. The canyon's rocks had held their warmth from a full sunny day, and their heat radiated the valley in the early evening. Chloe wiped her face down with the stream water, thinking of how cool it would be in the tower with all the windows open high above the treeline with a night breeze.

She kept to the trail and climbed up over a high ledge to continue on. She heard Angel on the radio again, "So… I have a bit of a confession to make."

Chloe looked up at the setting sun and rubbed her eye, answering back, "Yeeeah, what is it?"

"Uhmm, I may've had a few drinks last night and was a little buzzed. I actually didn't think you were going to show up. The last person that was hired, well, actually the last two... one made it halfway up the hike and quit, the other left a few days in."

Chloe smirked as she continued on the trail, "Yeah, well, I'm here, and you're not the first boss to be guilty of havin' a few on the job."

"I know. I just… I got a little pushy, putting you on the spot about why you're out here n' stuff."

Chloe let it go, "S’fine. No worries, Boss."

"I-I'll keep that sort of a thing to a minimum. Actually, it won’t happen again."

"No worries, like I said. I'm sure you already know I'm not a squeaky clean girl scout."

"Yeah…" Chloe still heard the disappointment in Angel's voice of how she acted last night. "Anyway, let me know when you get back to your lookout."

Overhead there was a loud boom. The girl scout looked up into the sky. "Hey, I heard some thunder."

"Yeah, I've got eyes on a storm out to the north."

"That's bad, right? ‘Cause of the lightning strikes?"

"Yeah, it means we'll be busy. Hurry home. And try not to get hit by lightning… or break a leg, I still won't be pleased about that."

Chloe smiled. "Roger that, Boss. But I don't think I’ll have a choice in getting struck."

"Hmmm, I think you will with your electric personality."

Chloe rolled her eyes as she groaned. "Augh."

"I see my joke did not spark your sense of humor."

Chloe lightly shook her head with a smirk. _It reminded her of her dad’s humor._ "Over and out.” The punk raised the radio back up to her mouth and added, “Punny lady."

Angel giggled.

\-------------------

Chloe entered a narrow gorge with their walls about a meter apart from each other. She stepped into the small stream and walked through to the other side. When Chloe emerged, she noticed a cave and another cache box just outside it. She walked over and put in the secure code. Inside there was another map. She updated hers with the location of this cache box and noticed her way back was through the cave.

There was a small rectangle flashlight left behind for anyone on the service team that had to travel through. She picked it up and tested the light. It didn't turn on. Frustrated that she didn't take hers, she shook it and smacked it with her other hand. The bright light turned on, blinding her. "Auuh, fuck." She turned it off and blinked the multiple colorful flashing orbs from her eyes. Getting her sight back, she attached it to the strap of her pack and closed the box, finding nothing else of interest to her. _Who the fuck puts pinecones in these?_

Chloe walked to the opening of the cave and asked, "So, what's in this cave down here?"

Angel replied a moment later as Chloe walked in, turning on the flashlight. "In Thunder Canyon?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows, "Thunder, Canyon?"

"Hey, I didn't name the area. But inside the cave? I don't know, rocks, aaand more rocks? The Rangers tell people not to go too far in there. It's pretty dangerous."

"Sooo-"

"Sooo I say, fuck it. You're a grown-ass woman. You can go where you want. Plus it's the only way back to your tower in that direction."

Chloe smirked. _Yeah, I'm starting to like the way you think._ "Cool, might be great to explore it sometime this summer."

"Well, that could be fun. Obviously, be very careful. You know what will happen if you break a leg."

Chloe replied with a smile, "Yeah, yeah, you will not be pleased."

"Damn right. And I don't want to lose another watcher in there."

Chloe stopped walking. "What?"

Angel's voice became creepy and quiet, "They go in, they never come out. Mwwahahahaaa."

Chloe chuckled. She looked into the heavily shadowed cave. "Helloooooo!" Her smile widened. "Hmm. ♫There goes my hero, watch him as he goes♫" Chloe then howled like a wolf, playing with the echoes as she started walking again. 

\-------------------

Chloe, lightly singing, hopped down from a ledge and walked around a corner, coming to an intersection. There on her right was a heavy steel caged-off area with a door. There were two signs, one that said ‘452,’ the other said ‘Caves Closed. For access, Key available at Ranger station.’ She tested the door, finding it locked. "Hey, this cave is gated off."

"It's to stop spelunkers from dying without getting the keys from the Forest Service office first."

Chloe chuckled, "Ah, so you need to get a key first in order to die?"

Angel chuckled, "If you like traversing around in a dark cave, at least tell us that you're going to do it."

"Makes sense, would like to see what's down there."

"Hmm, the Rangers said they lost them years ago, so it’s mysteries are locked away forever."

Chloe's sense of adventure grew within her. She thought of an old childhood friend. _We would've loved it down here_. "Ah, damn."

"Yeah, I wanted to go down there a few years ago, but yeah, they still haven't gotten around to getting the key replaced. They probably just don't want anyone to go down there anymore."

"That sucks."

Angel picked up on the disappointment. "Yeah, but maybe you can find another one to get your caving kicks in."

"Is there one that has not been named yet?"

"Why?"

"I want it named after me."

Angel chuckled. "Chloe's Cave?"

"It would be a kick-ass cave. The park would be flooded with campers wanting to go through it… Then again, I kinda would like to keep it for myself."

"Your hideout."

"Yeah," Chloe thought of her last hideout and quickly buried it away.

"So, you're gonna have to find another one besides this one."

Chloe whined a little, "But this one's so close to home and convenient. The door looks rusted enough that I could break-in? Maybe I can learn lockpicking while I’m up here."

Angel replied back in baby talk, "Aww, sorry, Chloowe." She thought for a second. "Hmm, best not to break the law on your first official day here."

"Right, I should wait for the second day."

Angel chuckled.

Chloe turned around and walked down the tunnel. "So how much further do I ha- never mind." She heard Angel chuckle again as Chloe looked at the exit above her. The punk climbed up out of the cave. Her walk had been long enough that the short rainstorm had passed through and it cooled the area. She looked up into the early night sky, seeing the stars and paused for a moment to look at its beauty. She took a deep breath of air and let it out and continued home with the flashlight on. 

Chloe climbed up over another small rock ledge on the pathway. She spotted a person standing high above her on the canyon's ledge. They also spotted her and flashed their light into her eyes. She winced, shielding it with her arm. "Ahh, hey, can you lower your light?"

They didn't reply and kept the light on her. "Hey! Lower your light, you're blinding me!" Again they didn't respond or move. "Dude!" _What the fuck?_ Chloe spoke on the radio, "There's someone here."

As soon as Chloe had spoken to Angel on the radio, the shadow turned and quickly left the area with the flashlight off.

"Someone?" Angel asked. "Wait. Are they looking at you? Are they doing anything else?"

"N… No?… I don't think so?" Chloe felt a little alarmed. _Fuck, I'm out here all by myself. The closest help is miles away._ Chloe slowly walked up the trail as Angel's voice replied with concern, "Chloe, uhmm, t-there's something I have to… I mean, someone should've told you about this..."

Chloe felt more aware of her surroundings. It was dark, she was on her own with no protection in an area she didn't know. _Fuck!_ "What is it?!..." Chloe asked, a little worried. _Jesus Christ, is there like a murderer that hangs out here?! Fucking Big Foot?! I should've taken one of Stepdouches's guns with me. Fuck! I shouldn't have taken this job!_

Angel continued with a serious, foreboding tone, "It's... it's the outdoors, Chloe."

Chloe stopped walking and half rolled her eyes when she realized she fell for it, "Son of a-"

Angel added, "The whole thing is the outdoors. And people come and go as they please. It's… it's madness! Insane, crazy or Hella cray-cray, depending on where you’re from."

Chloe started walking again, feeling stupid. She chuckled, "Yeah-yeah, okay, I get it." She reached the top of the canyon and walked over to where she had seen the person but not finding them around. 

"Chloe, bumping into someone in the middle of a park is normal."

"Yeah, I'm an idiot."

Angel lightly chuckled, "You're still in the mindset of someone living in the city."

 _And of other things._ "It was more of a town," Chloe replied.

"Ah, either way, they’re people in the park doing park things like camping and hiking around… y’know, normal stuff."

"Yeah, I get it. Just not thinking straight."

"No worries. You do sometimes feel weird when you're alone up here and haven't seen a person in a while. It can be a slight weirdness seeing someone again."

"Dude, just caught me a little off guard. I asked him a few times to lower his light away from my face, and he didn't."

"Well, unfortunately, there will always be assholes in the world no matter where you are."

Chloe replied, agreeing with her, "Hmph, you got that right."

"K, continue on. You have a few ledges to climb before you're out of the canyon."

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. Over and out."

It took another few minutes for Chloe to get herself out of the area. Once she climbed the last ledge, she got to the top out of breath and leaned on a trail sign. Just as she let her body rest up against the wooden pole it gave way. Chloe caught herself before she fell to the ground. "Jesus!" She stumbled forward as the 'trail closed' sign fell with a thud to the forest floor. Chloe spoke out loud, "This place is like a freakin' death trap. The friggin’ government doesn't have enough money to make sure signs and ropes don't break? Fucking hell." Chloe controlled her breathing, trying to get it back to a normal state. She turned and looked at the sun’s glow slowly disappearing over the mountain ridge.

_Pretty, shit I forgot my camera!_ Walking up the path she felt a sense of home and relief when she saw the silhouette of her tower only a few yards away.

Chloe left the forest line and walked to the small grassy opening of her tower area. There, she saw the outhouse and thought it was best to make use of the facilities now. She opened the door and came face to face with a man smiling at her. Chloe jumped back with her fist raised and yelped, looking at large Forest Service sign placed in the doorway. "Jesus fucking Christ!" she said over the radio.

Angel replied right away, "What's wrong?!"

"Motherfucking sign in the outhouse! Goddammit!" Chloe tried to once again slow her heart rate down. "I don't think there's a mascot I hate more than Forrest Fuckin' Byrnes."

Angel laughed, "Ah, I see one of the other watchers has welcomed you to the job."

"Motherfucker right up in my face. Good thing I'm about to use the shitter."

Angel laughed harder. "Chloe, as an employee of the Forest Service, it’s treason to hate your mascot."

"Fuck 'em, with his creepy ass smile and eyes that follow you around. What the hell is he so happy about?! N’ what type of name is Forrest Byrnes, anyways?" Chloe hauled out the sign, let it fall to the ground, then carefully leaned inside and inspected the outhouse for any other surprises.

"Ah, well, that would be a pun, Chloe. A glorious-glorious pun.”

Chloe shined the light onto the ceiling of the outhouse, "I knew a guy back in my home town with the name Harry Butts."

"Ah, is that why you're scared of seeing a hairy butt?"

"Well, dude was kinda skeevy... plus, he's not my type. Like I said, cute, non-hairy bubble butts are more my thing." Chloe didn't give Angel time to respond. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to offload two days worth of hippy dehydrated, tastes like cardboard, food, finally, thanks to the scare."

"Augh, too much info."

"Yeah, deal with it. And let the mofo know if I find out who they are they'll wish they never took this job in the first place.”

Angel giggled, "Settle down there, girl scout, remember your motto."

"Kick any motherfucker who scares the literal shit outta me?"

Angel laughed again. "Yeah, I don't think that's the motto of the Girl Scouts of America."

"It should be... along with them carrying switchblades.”

“Ahh yeah, the ‘Bitches get Stitches’ badge?”

“You know of it.” Chloe said with a smirk.

“Of course, I have it.” Angel giggled.

Chloe laughed. “Over and out."

\-------------------

Relieved of the 'hippy food,' Chloe walked towards the tower. The generator had kicked in on the timer and a spotlight lit up the grounds below the tower. She walked towards the staircase and stopped. Her stomach dropped, seeing her sleeping bag was on the ground. "What the fuck!” She looked up at the tower and hauled out her radio. Chloe was fine with pranks, but this was her shit that they just tossed to the ground. "Angel?!" Chloe said, pissed off as she walked up the stairs.

Angel replied with humor, "If you’re gonna tell me about your bathroom experience, I don't really want to know."

"Yeah, no. Why the fuck is my sleeping bag on the ground outside the tower?!"

"I dunno?"

The sky above the mountains lit up again as another storm front was coming through. Chloe climbed the last step and looked inside her tower. She immediately went from zero to one hundred percent pissed off. "What the fuck is wrong with your crew?!"

"What? What's wrong?!"

"Seriously, what the fuck is their problem?! Who the fuck did this?! I want to know, now!"

"Chloe, what happened? What's wrong?"

Chloe looked at the broken window by the door. "One of your fucks broke in!"

"They what?!"

"They just... motherfuckers! They wrecked the place. What the fuck kinda prank is it to fuck people's shit up!" 

"Holy shit!"

Chloe turned on the ceiling light and looked around the area and the mess that was created. Books had been tossed all over the place. Anything not tied down was pushed over. She immediately looked for her pictures, finding them untouched. She noticed her journal was not on the table where she left it. She looked around, seeing it on the floor. She swore loudly. "Who the fuck did this, Angel?! I want the name of the fucker that did this!"

"Chloe, I'm asking them now. Give me a sec."

Chloe angrily started to clean up the mess. "This place is fucking trashed!" she yelled to herself. Chloe felt her anger rise, and she squeezed the radio, not realizing she pressed the talk button. Angel heard Chloe yell, "Fucking Christ, I come out here to get away from this type of bullshit! I will fuck ’em up. Motherfuckers! FUCK!" Angel had to wait for Chloe to take her finger off the speak button. It took a few seconds and more swear words for Chloe to unclench her hand.

Angel's voice was soft as he spoke, "Chloe, easy. I talked with the others, and they said they only put the sign in the outhouse a couple of days ago when they heard you were hiking to your tower."

"Bullshit!"

"I know them. They would never do such a thing to anyone. They're kind people."

"Angel, I want to know who did this, now! They fucking lying to you!"

"Chlo... I know you don't know or trust them or me."

"You got that fucking right!"

"They wouldn't do something like this. I'm putting in a call right now to the Ranger’s station to let them know what happened."

"And what are they going to do?"

"I don't know, but the gatehouse keeps tabs of all the vehicles in the park, and they can ask if someone saw or heard something."

"That doesn't help. Cause I'm fucking damn well sure whoever did this won't come out and say 'hey I just fucked up someone's shit!'"

"I'm sorry, Chloe. This has never happened before."

Chloe didn't have anything to say. She angrily picked up things off the floor, continually swearing.

"It was probably that guy I saw at the canyon ledge or the fuckin' two cunts by the lake. I did take a longer route to get back here. They had time to get back before me."

"Okay, I'll let a Ranger know to question any man that is camping in the area and the two girls that were in the area."

"If those two bitches did this, I will seriously fuck them up."

"Easy, Chloe."

"Don't tell me to be easy! You didn’t have your shit fucked up by someone for no reason?!”  
“I can't believe someone would do this… I worry about bears and fires, and now we've got to worry about… who knows what out there." Chloe didn't reply. She placed the radio down and took off her pack and started to clean up her area. 

\-------------------

A few minutes passed. "Chloe?"

Chloe picked up the radio, placing some books back on the shelf, and answered, still irritated. "What?"

"I tried to get in contact with the front gate, but it's closed for the night. I’ll contact them in the morning and let them know right away. All campers have to tell us what site they'll be at during their time in the park."

Chloe was not in the mood. "Yeah, will the fucking Ranger tell me who did this if they find out?"

"Probably not, but they'll inform the police."

"Then there's no point for us to talk. Over and out." Chloe tossed the radio on the table and continued to clean up the mess.

"Chlo?... Chloe, please…" Angel sighed. "I'm sorry this happened to you, you didn't deserve this… Chloe, I want you to feel safe out here."

Chloe replied, "Yeah, well, I don't. Just point me to the Forest Services weapons cache, and I'll feel safer than the Pope in his little fuckin' mobile."

"Yeeah, ah… someone made the choice years ago that leaving people with a lot of alone time and a gun was kinda a bad idea. So that’s a no-go."

Lightning flashed over Chloe's tower, and the rain came down in buckets cooling off her body and easing her anger. "What about a machete, like the one Jason Voorhees has? It worked for him at Camp Crystal Lake."

Angel quickly blew air out her nose and chuckled. "I'll see what I can do. But in all seriousness, Chloe, you are my priority right now, okay?"

Chloe waited for a few seconds to reply, Angel's voice sounded sincere, Chloe's anger dropped. "Yeah, alright."


	3. Day 2

Chloe turned the knob on the small portable radio, deciding on a station that her late father had liked. [ When the station was tuned](https://youtu.be/mXonGAEPQp8), she sat back in her chair with her feet up on the desk, drinking a cup of coffee that had a generous amount of whiskey in it. Not getting much sleep, Chloe watched the sunrise over the mountains on a new day. 

"Wakey wakey," a voice called over the radio. Chloe looked at her radio then placed her cup down and picked up her two-way as Angel spoke to her again, "Heeey, wake up."

"I'm awake, I'm awake. Keep your panties on. What's your problem?"

"Our problem, Watcher."

Chloe rubbed her red eyes, feeling drained. "Sorry, right, our problem." She stretched and yawned.

"I radioed to inform the Rangers about the break-in but the storm last night knocked out the phone line, which means we're cut off. The walkies that were issued don't have the range to be picked up."

 _Jesus Christ._ "Should I be worried?" Chloe thought of the interview she had with the man over the phone, _'Yeah, it's a boring job I'm not gonna lie, you just sit and look out the tower and report if you see a fire. Not much to it.'_

Angel replied, "Worried? No."

"Really? We can't get help if we need it." _Jesus._ Chloe felt herself become annoyed again.

Angel's voice softened, "We're okay here." She cleared her throat and continued, "Besides, for some reason, I think you know how to take care of yourself." Chloe didn't reply. "Sooo, that being said..." Angel put Chloe to work, "I need you to hike out where the line runs through your area and report back if it's down, asap. I got the others already out searching in their areas."

"Right, where is it?" Chloe stood up, cracked her neck, grabbed her pack and left the tower.

"You'll have to go through the cave again. Once you're on the other side, head north."

"Right, on it."

Angel sounded chipper to hear that Chloe was going to do the task without complaint. "Thanks, Scout."

Chloe smirked as she walked down the stairs at the new nickname. "I'm more of a Captain, by the way."

Something dropped close to Angel's microphone, "I- wha-?"

"Woah, you okay there, Boss? Did I break you with the ranking? I'm fine with Scout. I can deal."

"Ahh… s-sorry. I…"

"You okay?"

It took a moment for Angel to reply. "Sorry. I dropped something on the table mic, dammit."

"So yeah, "Angel continued, "uhm, head up north from the caves."

Chloe noticed the different tone in Angel's voice. "You sure you're okay?" Chloe turned in the direction of Angel's tower.

"Yeah-yeah, I..." Angel chuckled a little, "apparently, I can't handle pressing a radio button and drinking a coffee at the same time... I'm fine, just need to clean up my table and the mic. Get a move on, please, and keep me informed."

"Roger that, Boss. Talk to you in a bit. Over and out."

\-------------------

Chloe emerged from the cave, looked at her compass then headed north. She rubbed her arms from the coldness of the cave. She pressed the radio button. "Shit, it's cold in the caves in the early morning."

"Roger that. It warms up fast around the canyon and the winds then blow into the cave, warming it by late afternoon. The mornings are usually cold here in the mountains."

"Yeah, I kinda know. It's been a long time since I went camping, but I remember waking up and having a layer of mist in the area sometimes. Kinda spooky."

"Yeah, when was the last time you went camping?"

"Hmm, had to be, hell..." Chloe quickly blew air out her mouth, thinking, "*Pfff* well over six or seven years now, I think."

"Hmm, that is a little while. What made you stop?"

"Life got in the way."

"Yeah, and what is Chloe's life like?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I wanna know."

"Not much to tell." Chloe didn't want to tell the Watcher her whole life story. "Mother got re-married to an asshole military fuck. We don't see eye to eye. I dropped out of school n' I spent my days doing nothing while hanging out at a junkyard, getting drunk and high. Then I moved the fuck on when I realized that I had nobody that gave a shit about me. The end."

"S-sorry."

Chloe shrugged and played it off like it was nothing. "Meh, it doesn't matter. It's not your fault. I'm sure you've heard worse stories, being up here. Like you said, people take this job to run away from something or to start over."

"Sorry Chlo, can you hold a sec?"

Chloe replied, looking at the sunlight shining on the trail up ahead, "Yep." She walked out of the shadow of the canyon and into the sun. _Warm sun_.

Angel spoke to someone, "Hey-hey. I don't think so? Why... have you?" Chloe looked at her radio, confused, listening. "Okay. Good." She was going to speak but Angel still had her mic open. "No, I don't think she has any idea. So hopefully she won't find out, either."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. _Huh?_ She then turned up the volume to hear the one-way conversation as she scuffed her hiking boot in the dirt. _Who's she talking to?_ Chloe strained her ears to listen for another voice in the room, she couldn't hear one.

Angel spoke again, "I'm absolutely sure… would you?" _What are they talking about? What won't I find out?_ Angel sighed, "Alright. I'll let you know if anything changes in that regard." Chloe heard Angel's voice closer to the radio, "Hey, Chlo, sorry about that." Angel went back to their conversation. Chloe turned the volume back down. "If there's anyone or anything you want to talk about, I'll listen."

"Who was that?" Chloe asked with a hint of attitude.

"Who was what?" Angel replied.

Chloe repeated what Angel had said to someone, with a bit more attitude, "'No, I don't think she has any idea.' What was that? Were you talking about me?!"

"Uhh, what?" Angel sounded confused.

"You left your mic open, I heard you."

Angel began to explain, still confused why Chloe was giving her attitude, "That call was work. I was just talking to… actually..." Angel stopped with the explanations. "It's not really your business. Why are you freaking out?"

"I'm not freaking out."

Angel didn't believe her. "Oookay. I'm… I'm gonna go quiet for a little bit. Call me if it's important. Over and out."

Chloe lowered her radio and let out a breath of air as her shoulders slumped forward. _Shit._ She lightly shook her head. _Fuck_. The last few months with Rachel had left her paranoid, always thinking there was something else going on. As it turned out, Chloe had been right to think that way. Unfortunately, she just made the stupid mistake thinking that Angel was the same way. "Way to go, Price," Chloe mumbled. She started walking. "Keep up the great fucking work, dumbass."

\-------------------

Chloe didn't pay attention to how much time passed. Her mind kept going over past negative conversations she had over the years with family and the small number of people she considered a friend. It was one of those things that liked to popup unannounced and only left her dragged out and usually angry. Chloe stepped up on a large rock and noticed that she'd entered a different area of the park. She looked up and saw the first utility post and the wire running to the next post. She yawned, feeling drained mentally and physically from not getting a full night of sleep and also from the morning hike. Chloe spoke into the radio and reported it, "Ahh, I just found one of the utility posts. It looks okay."

Angel replied a few moments later. Her voice sounded more formal, "Okay, follow it along the trail. You can head back as soon as you give me the all-clear, thank you. Over and out."

"Ah, yeah, okay." _Shit, she's still pissed? Of course she is, you acted like a dick to her_.

\-------------------------------

For the next forty minutes Chloe followed the line north, hopping up and over a few downed logs or rocks on the trail. She pushed past a few bushes and came to a small clearing.

Keeping an eye on the line above and one on the path, she noticed a yellow cache box a few yards away from the pole line and decided to check it out. _I'm here, might as well._

Chloe opened the cache to see what the treasure held. She updated her map of the location once again and looked inside. _Super-fucking-duper, more random shit. Pinecones, flowers, firelogs and another note._

_Dave,_

_Hayo. I got your note about 'meeting to talk," and sorry I didn't track you down. Been looking for you all day. Figured you'd be out near the canyon helping those grad students, but I guess not._

_I could really help with that, though, anyway. We're co-workers, ya know? Amigos professionals. If you need someone to throw back a case with and go time-traveling, I'm your guy. But I'm not great with the life stuff._

_You get it._

_Later on,_

_Ron._

Chloe picked up her radio. "I found another note in a cache, it was from Ron this time." She looked up and around her. "Is there any chance one of them was the guy I saw in the canyon? You know, the guy with the flashlight that was all up in my face?"

Angel replied, "No, they're both Rangers and they're not out here this season. Ron is all about trying to get some from any of the female campers or getting loaded with a group of campers during the season." Chloe noticed Angel's voice seemed a little more relaxed. She even went back to her sarcasm, "It's somehow comforting to know Ron was able to keep up a correspondence with someone who wasn't going to send him a topless picture."

Chloe lightly chucked, left the cache box and continued back up the trail to look for something wrong with the line. She came to a large boulder that she had to climb and spotted some garbage. "You've got to be kidding me." She pressed the button on the radio, "Guess what?"

"What is it?" Angel replied.

"There's a bunch of empty beer cans up here." _Fucking bitches_.

Angel sighed into her words, "Same as before?"

"Yep."

"Those b- ... jerks." Chloe smirked at Angel's use of the word. "How can these morons be so stupid?" The Punk continued up and over another boulder, listening to Angel. "Trust me, Scout, never underestimate the stupidity of drunken teens."

"Heh, so you have heard of some of my inebriated life choices from the past few years?"

There was silence on the radio, then Angel dramatically and sarcastically dragged out her words, "You're a teen?! How did that go over my head? You are so well behaved, never angry and I'm sure you never took that bottle of whiskey."

Chloe chuckled, "It just oozes out of you, doesn't it?"

"The awesomeness or the sarcasm? Or is it both?"

"Hmm, think that ooze might have a distinct smell."

Angel laughed. "Hey, I'll have you know. _*sniff sniff*_ Okay, you're probably right on the smell."

Chloe smiled. "I'm thankful your tower is downwind from mine-" Chloe spotted the downed line. "Hey, the line is down over here."

"Ah crap, was hoping that the line would be closer to the Rangers or the front gate. Any sign of the girls?"

Chloe walked towards the line on the ground. "I'll look around." She noticed more beer cans littered about. "The line is laying out in the open, so whoever has to fix it, let them know that they won't have to do it in a bunch of trees or bushes. It'll be easy to get to." Chloe spotted a pair of discarded pink panties with 'Go to Hell!' written on the butt cheek area. _Gross._ "Yeah, there's also a pair of panties with 'Go To Hell' written on them." She looked at the end of the wire, it wasn't frayed as if it was pulled apart, it had a perfect edge to it. "Also, it doesn't look like the wind from last night's storm took this down." Chloe scanned around the area. "It looks like it was cut."

"I knew it the moment you said you found their trash." Angel let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh, these idiots are going to pay. How the hell did they get it down or even up there?" Chloe let the woman rant. "Don't they realize this is how people die? I mean, what if something happens to one of my Watchers?! And heaven forbid if there's an actual fire in the park and I have to report it."

"What do you want to do, Boss?"

"I want you to go find them."

Chloe smirked. _Hee Hee, gonna bust some heads._ "It's about hella time. And then what?"

"I… I haven't thought that far ahead. That's not true. Everything that comes to mind is illegal."

Chloe's smile widened. "Hmm, let's hear it."

Angel gave in, "Oh yeah?"

"Hey, I came out here for a breath of fresh air and a new adventure. And if shit is happening to my co-workers, I'm gonna step up. So, Boss Lady, whaddya got?"

"I think I want you to just find them and scare the hell of them."

Chloe replied, liking Angel's little devil streak; it was cute. "Yeah, so you want me to do what?"

"I-I-I'd make a spooky ghost costume... from bedsheets, and wait till nightfall."

Chloe giggled and shook her head. _Definitely cute_. "No can do Boss, they dirtied up my sheets. But, if I waaas given the machete as requested, y'know..."

Angel giggled. "Yeeeah, still a no on that. Hmm, I don't know what to do…" She thought for a moment. "Wait for them to wander off and wreck their camp. Something that would make teenage girls run home to mommy and daddy?"

Chloe chuckled again. "Riiight, well, if l can't get a machete? What about the face mask at least?

"Again, that would be a no." Angel giggled.

"Fiiine, I'll find them. You're really taking the fun out of this."

"I know, sorry. But thanks."

"I'm gonna need a raise for just doing a lame jump scare."

Angel let out a puff of air. "Pff, yeah, don't hold your breath. And the only currency worth anything out here is toilet paper."

Chloe chuckled. "Any clue on where I could find them?"

"Well, I could find out exactly where they told the front gate they were gonna set up camp, buuut the line is down, sooo... I'd start by hiking back towards your tower and just keep an eye out for anything that would lead you to them."

"Well, they're big into Red Eagle beer. And they seem to leave their shit everywhere, so follow the crumb trail."

"Heh, living up to your nickname, are you?"

Chloe smiled. "Of course."

"Maybe go back to the lake where they had the fire. They might've set up camp around the area?"

"On it."

Chloe left the downed wire. It didn't take long to find her first Red Eagle bread crumb. _Fucking assholes._ She kept following the pathway that led her to a crossroads. To the left was Two Forks and Jonesy Lake. To the right, Thorofare.

Chloe thought about turning back for home but she spotted another supply cache. She walked into the Thorofare area and to the longer green supply box and sighed. "These treasure chests suck," Chloe said to no one, finding nothing inside. She closed the cache and continued ahead. 

A few minutes later, she found herself standing on one side of a ravine, looking at what she thought was a heavy-duty clothesline that extended across.

Chloe got back on her radio. "Hey, I'm out at the Thorofare's ravine. What's this thing that spans across it? It's like a clothesline."

"That's a tram, it's how you get to my sector."

"No kidding! Well, let me hike over."

"It's locked up and mainly for emergencies. I've never actually used it. Plus, you have to stay in your area. So, no neighborly tea-time visits."

Chloe chuckled and played with her, "HELP! OH GOD, it's an emergency!"

Angel replied monotonically, "Oh, really?"

"Y-yeah. I've got, uhh, there's a hurricane! I gotta get out of here!"

Angel played along, "A hurricane?! In the heart of the mountains?!"

"Yes! Angel, haaalp!"

"Holy moly. I need to call this in! Forrest Byrnes! Two Forks sees a hurricane. The Watcher says she needs an evac to my sector... it's a meteorological impossibility?" Chloe chuckled at Angel's dramatic voice as she continued, "There has never been a hurricane in the mountains like, ever, you say? She's gonna have to stay and take a detailed personal account of everything? Oookay. I'll tell her… Sorry Scout, no dice."

Chloe pouted. _*Tsk_. "Ah, man… goin' back to stupid Two Forks."

Angel quickly retorted, "No pouting."

Chloe giggled. "Yes, ma'am."

\--------------------------------

Chloe ventured back into Two Forks territory, coming to another log bridge that had a long drop. _Fuck me, what's wrong with building a proper bridge ‘n shit_. Chloe held out her arms to balance herself and got across to continue on. There she spotted an old, dead tree, it wouldn't have gotten her attention if it wasn't for... "Hey, there is an abandoned pack out here."

Angel asked, "Is it one of the teens?"

"No, different one. It's hanging up in a tree n' it looks like it's been up there for a while. It's really weathered and faded."

"Well, you could always pilfer it for supplies."

Chloe smirked. "Arrr."

Angel giggled, "A fan of pirates?"

Chloe replied again, "Arrr."

"I take that as a yes, then?"

Chloe jumped up and grabbed onto it, breaking the dead branch holding it up in the process. She kneeled and opened the bag, noticing on the inside flap a patch sewn with a person's name: _Brian Goodwin._ Chloe dove into her treasure, not looking at what her hand took hold of. She grabbed the first surprise item, took it out and was blinded by a flash. "Ah!" She had taken out a disposable camera and took a picture of herself by mistake. "Shit." She placed the camera on the ground and dove in for the next item, which was the largest one: a coil of relatively unused rope. She put her hand in once again and was greeted with another coil of rope. _Ahh, man, I already got this item._ She looked inside the bag and found a few more coils. Chloe got back on the radio and sounded excited, "Hooray! I found a bag of…" her excitement dropped, "ropes."

Angel giggled.

"Why couldn't it be a money bag?"

"Hey, if you find a money bag, I claim 70%."

"70! That's robbery!"

"But that's what pirates do. Arrr."

Chloe chuckled. "So there's enough rope here that I can just leave them hooked up at each post, I think. Oh, I also found one of those disposable cameras."

"Really? Are there a few pictures left? Is it a Fuji or a Kodak? Is it the ISO 800 one with a flash, or is it a quick snap waterproof one?"

"Simmer down, shutterbug." Chloe looked at the camera. "I don't know it's a... Kodak with a flash on it."

"Hmm, probably the 35mm ISO 800 one."

"Like cameras?"

"Yeah. Up here everyone seems to pick up the hobby. Tons of stuff to take pictures of."

"That's true. I took an older Polaroid camera with me."

"Cool. Well, try not to snap anything that would scar a photo employee for life when you bring it in to get developed."

Chloe put the camera in her side pocket. "Heh, no promises, they knew what they were signing up for when they applied for the job. If not, I'm sure their first hairy butt would've been funny or scarring to see."

Angel laughed as Chloe hooked onto a rock with another carabiner then tossed a rope over the side. "Thank you, Brian Goodwin, wherever you are."

"Wait… who?" Angel asked with interest.

"The pack had the name Brian Goodwin sewn into the inside flap." Chloe lowered herself down a gulch.

"Huh, wow."

"You know him?" Chloe asked when she reached the bottom.

"Yeah, a little."

"Was he a watcher?"

"Oh, no."

"Ranger?"

"No."

"Okay, an ex?"

"Oh, yeah, it was a summer romance."

Chloe was a little surprised. "Oh?"

Angel dramatically sighed, "Brian was twelve years old, so our love of D&D was never understood by anyone."

"Augh," Chloe rolled her eyes, falling for Angel's story.

Angel giggled. "His father, Ned, was stationed in Two Forks, your lookout. They spent a summer there a couple of years ago. I met them when I was up here with my family camping. Nice kid, had a huge sense of adventure. Reminded me of a childhood friend..." Chloe heard the woman sigh.

Chloe asked, "You could have family out here on the job?"

"MMmm, technically no, but… we're not a stickler for rules. It's hard to keep a person for this job. The Service does let some stuff slide and in Ned's case he was a single father, so it helped him out a lot financially to have his son also there."

"Hmm, I found a note when I was cleaning up my tower, from a Ned."

"Yeah, that's probably him."

"Dude just up and left, said he had enough."

"Yeah, some people realize that this job isn't for them and they just leave to get back to civilization. Not everyone can handle being alone for long periods of time."

Chloe had repelled down another gulch while listening to Angel. Once she reached the bottom, she found herself in a clearing with another supply cache that, once again, contained nothing useful. Chloe updated her map of the location and read another note from Ron and Dave as she took a break to drink some water and eat some beef jerky. _Damn, I'm tired, all this walkin' around. Gonna sleep good tonight._

_Dave,_

_Guess who's going out with Debbie next week!!! No, not that shit-heel Steve. It's your man Ron!_

_I went up to check out the new guy (at Two Forks) and heard him talking to himself (more than usual in my opinion) so I figured I'd stay away. Remember when you saw Chimney Rock having a go at himself in the hammock? I'm starting to think the Forest Service only picks the deranged and perverted._

_Except for us, of course, we're the creme-de-la-creme._

_Let's toast to Deb at the spot!_

_-Ron_

As Chloe put her hiking pack on, Angel radioed her, "Hey, any sign of the girls?"

"Nope."

"K, you can continue on down to the lake or head back to your tower, it's up to you."

"Ah, don't give up so easily."

Angel hummed.

"You gotta hold onto that anger and use it," Chloe said with a smirk.

"Ahh, my therapist has told me not to."

"Pff, therapy, what do they know?"

Angel lightly chuckled. Chloe looked around, thinking of what to do. _Screw it._ She walked towards the lake. "So, Angel, what had you in therapy?"

"Ahh, it…

"Shit, sorry, that was way too forward. I've been told I'm a little forward sometimes."

"N-no, it's okay. I, ahh, had to get over a hard situation I was in, I, ah… fucked up and I hurt someone I cared for. I made it worse by not confronting what I did and let it fester till it... well, I started to blame myself for everything, for how I failed, and I started to take it out on myself."

"Shit, sorry, dude… I understand, though." Chloe looked up at the sky and the clouds overhead. "I never thought to try to get through my teens would be this fucked up."

"Y-yeah. I still have bad days ‘n stuff, y'know... but I do my best."

"I don't know your situation, but… I do understand the anger and letting it fester till it bursts out."

Angel cleared her throat a little, "Sorry about snapping at you earlier, uhmm, I thought about it, and yeah. I suppose it must have sounded, like, kinda weird when you heard me take that other call and what I said. Plus, you're just out there by yourself in your own head. Trust me, I know how it is."

Chloe thought to herself, _Angel, I've been in my head for a long time_. She apologized as well, "I also jumped to conclusions and acted like a dick. So yeah, no worries, water under the bridge and all that."

Angel changed the subject, "Yeah… sooo, how about... did you break any hearts back home? I, myself, have chosen to never get attached to anyone who would miss me. I know, I'm a bit of an outlier." Angel started to backtrack, "Well. I-I don't mean that the way it sounds. I mean that I care about people and I like the idea of a relationship but… I kinda found it better for me to be by myself."

Chloe slowed her walk. She felt saddened at Angel's question and then her statement. Chloe lifted the radio to her mouth and tried to speak. She took a moment to answer, "I'm not a heartbreaker..." _Someone has to give me their heart for me to break it, and I would never do that_. "I had a relationship, but… it… was time for me to move on."

"Ah… yeah, I've been trying to do that, too... moving on, that is."

"Yeah? How's it going so far?"

"It's ah… hard, b-but I was told it would take time, and it has taken time."

"How long has it been?"

"It'sss... been a while. This whole summer job, I wanted to have a decision made of what I would do; to let myself move on... to forgive myself for what I did and confront the person that I hurt and deal with the consequences."

Chloe stopped walking. "Angel, how old are you?"

"Ah, I, ah, does it matter?" Angel quickly spoke, "I'm qualified for this job. I've been volunteering with the Services for a few years. I know this area very well."

Chloe replied quietly, "No, no, not what I meant. I'm sure you're more than qualified. It's your voice, you sound young. I didn't mean it, like, in a bad way."

"S-sorry to dump my shit on you like that."

"It's okay, dude. Think of it as one of your therapy sessions or some shit, yeah?" Chloe lightly chuckled to ease the tension.

"I-I shouldn't do this, it's not professional at all."

There was silence on the radio. Chloe was the first to speak, "You wanna change the subject?"

"Yeah, p-please."

Chloe took a deep breath and changed her tone, "Soo Angel, what's up with the fenced-off area here?"

"Ah, that's because sometimes hikers go ass over teakettle on a trail and we have to close it off to make sure it's safe. Sometimes a rainstorm, like the one we just had, can cause some areas to be unsafe for a while. A Ranger will come out after a report by a person, they check it out and decide to close off the path."

"So the Forest Service puts up a big chain-link fence? I mean, I thought a sign like 'Do Not Enter' or 'Enter At Your Own Risk' would be enough. Then again," Chloe chuckled, "it never really worked for me, either." She looked up the fence and then down both sides of the area. "But it's kinda weird putting up a fence in a wildness area… the whole point of the park is to have no limits."

Angel sounded confused, "A chain-link fence? I thought you meant like a rope or, yeah, a sign."

"Nope, it's a fence. It looks like it surrounds a huge area. It's blocking one of the trail's paths."

"Huh. That's weird."

"What are they keeping from getting in... or out?"

"Ah jeez, I dunno. Maybe it's biologists or some other -ologist. They probably don't want people walking all over their area that they're studying, like, I dunno, lichens or some stuff."

"What the hell are lichens?"

Chloe knew Angel was smiling when she answered, "Wouldn't you lichen to know?"

"Oh my God. Goodbye." Chloe chuckled.

Angel laughed at getting Chloe once more. "I'll ask next time I talk to someone about what's going on, but that'll probably be a day or two."

"K, I'm entering the canyon."

"K, remember what I said."

"Legs, don't break them, or you will not be pleased."

"You got it, Scout. Look at you, listening to my rules."

"Yeah, yeah, shut it." Chloe heard Angel's giggle. _Christ, that's cute… fuck, don't go down that road._

\------------------

A half-hour later Chloe clipped onto another rock and lowered herself down a long gulch. She heard her radio transmit for a second. "Lazy ass!" Angel then sighed and her microphone turned off. There were a few more clicks over the line, "-ut this can't happen." Once again her microphone turned off.

"Angel?" Chloe said, confused.

.  
..  
…

There was a sound of something in front of Angel's microphone that Chloe couldn't identify, then the button was released once more.

"Everything okay?" Chloe asked.

.  
..

"Ah, yeah?" Angel said further away from the microphone. "I just found out that it's going to take a while for someone to come out and fix the line." Her voice was once again close to the microphone. "I'm okay. How's the hike goin'?"

"Pretty good. Oh wow," Chloe looked at the view. "I gotta take a picture of this." Chloe took out the disposable camera and snapped a picture.

"I'm on top of a natural arch thing out here."

"Is the arch a full one?"

"Ah, no. I guess what you call a bridge is out, here."

Angel chuckled. "Our log bridges are all-natural and 100% recyclable."

"Heh, I think I could jump this gap to get across the canyon."

"You're a regular daredevil. Just be careful, it's a long way down and one that you would definitely get hurt or worse. I don't want to find out that you've fallen. It would suck hard... You know, if you keep going down in the canyon, there's another way to get around. Just follow the same route you took yesterday to get back to your tower. It's a little longer but much safer."

"Angel?"

"Yeah."

"I already jumped across, but thanks for the words. And my daredevil jumpsuit is amazeballs."

"Oh... What are you wearing? I mean your suit, daredevil jumpsuit." Angel cleared her throat.

"It's the latest grunge fashion of cargo shorts, a Nirvana tank top, and a plaid flannel around the waist."

"Ah, c-cool."

Chloe smiled as she climbed up a small ledge. "And what about your daredevil wear?"

"Oh, uhmm, well it's the oldest fashion of the official forest green Service cargo pants, a tan polo shirt with the ever so popular Forrest Byrnes sewn on it and I have a choice of cold wear of either a pullover hoodie or a zip-up one."

"Ouu, sexy."

"I'm gonna be walking down a Paris runway in no time."

Chloe chuckled. Her mind quickly shot her to a memory and her smile faded. _'I'm going to be a model and walk the runway in some foreign country. You wanna come along?'_ Chloe quietly repeated her reply from that day, "Of course I do." She took a deep breath and pushed the memory away and went up the next rock ledge faster, getting her muscles to burn. For the next few minutes, Chloe pushed herself hard to get out of the canyon. By the time she was back in the forest, she was breathing hard and all her limbs burned. Chloe bent over and rested her hands on her knees. Her breathing stopped for a moment when she heard acoustic guitar music on her radio. She unclipped the radio and adjusted the volume. "Angel?... Boss, you have the button pre-" _wait, that's not a radio station. That's her! Shit, she knows how to play?!_ Chloe clipped the radio back to her belt, turned up the volume and decided to listen to the gentle guitar music as she hiked along.

\----------------------------

Chloe followed the path and spotted another cache box just off the beaten path. _Seriously, these things suck big time. There isn't even a stupid pinecone in it. Heh, I should leave my own special deposit._

Chloe closed the empty cache box and continued on down the trail. The music abruptly stopped. Angel's voice was spoken with care, "Oh… Leo, no-no, don't put that in your mouth." The radio turned off.

Chloe smiled. "Hey," she said into the radio. _Who's Leo? Does she have a kid?_

"Hey, sorry, the button on the table mic was pressed down. Were you trying to get through? I'm sorry."

"No, no. I was just listening to you play, it's nice." _She did say that Ned dude and his kid were out here. Single mother?_

"Oh, ah, t-thanks. It sometimes helps with… stuff."

"Cool that you have a calming outlet." Chloe looked around the field she was in. "Sooo, I'm in a clearing with what looks like a huge dreamcatcher on the ground made from rocks."

"It's a Medicine Wheel that was made by Crow American Indians hundreds of years ago. There's lots of small ones in the state; have you been to Medicine Wheel Monument over in Eagle creek?"

"Ah no, this is my first time out of the fifty-mile bubble that I've lived in for the past nin-" Chloe's voice changed; it was a little urgent, "Angel. I see a really thin plume of smoke."

Chloe took out her compass. "It's in my southwest direction."

"Okay, I see it too. A thin plume like this is either a new fire or a campfire."

"Campfire? You think it's Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum?"

"I'm not sure, we did have lightning storms last night. If you can hike towards Five Mile Creek, that should put you in the vicinity. Keep an eye on it and let me know if the plume gets any bigger. I'm going to… fuck, the line is down. K, Chlo, I gotta go for a bit and try to get word to the Rangers, talk in a bit."

"You got it." Chloe walked away from the Medicine wheel and back onto a path.

\-------------------

A half-hour passed into Chloe's hike. Angel came back on the radio, "Seriously, I think the Services should have a backup system when the line goes down."

Chloe took the radio off her belt with a smile. "Like what?"

"I dunno. I'm playing radio tag since our walkies have a limited range. I'm passing messages to one watcher and then they're passing the message off to another, four of them in all to get to the furthest watcher to physically hike to the Rangers station."

"Wow, yeah, there needs to be a better system in place. Hmm, how about a team of dog sleds?"

"Would work… in the winter," Angel chuckled.

"Bah, retrofit it with wheels. Oou, how about pigeons?"

"That… huh, that would actually work. Wait, no, it won't."

"Why? They used them for centuries for messaging."

"The hawks would take them out pretty fast. Hee-hee, they would get so chubby."

"Have a hard time getting off the ground with their little chubby bellies." Chloe heard Angel giggle again, and she smiled widely. "So, Angel, with the Angelic fingers, when did you start playing the guitar?"

"Ah, I guess it's been over four years."

"You're really good… with the light hippy tunes," Chloe chuckled.

"Not your type of music, grunge girl?"

"I do like to mosh most of the time, but I also like sittin' back with some budz and fading away to some acoustic stuff."

Angel lightly chucked, "Do you, uhm, fade, a lot?"

"Heh, sometimes. You?"

"Ah, no, I've never tried it."

"You should. Life, for a few moments, seems better. Less tense, if you get me."

"I'll have to take your word on that one," Angel chuckled again.

"So, guess where I am."

"The moon," Angel quickly replied.

Chloe gasped, "How did you know?!"

"I am supposed to be keeping an eye on you. How's the cheese up there?"

"Dry and crumbly… You're keeping an eye on me? Like, with binoculars?"

.  
..

"You're new to the job, remember? And no, I'm not keeping a physical eye on you."

"Right." _She has better things to do, moron._

"So, you gonna tell me where you are?" Angel asked.

"Oh right, I'm at Crippling Gulch or, y'know, the place where I almost died yesterday."

Angel chuckled. "Riiiight, the place where you fell on your bottom. Hee-hee. Once you get to the... bottom, in a couple of yards on your left there's another clip-off rock. Take that one and the path will lead you to the creek."

"K…. and for the record, my butt still hurts."

Angel cooed, "Awww, tough grungy girl has a boo-boo on the butt?"

"You, shush."

Angel chuckled once more.

Chloe walked for a few minutes once she reached the bottom and spotted another cache. _Fuck it, there's never anything in them._ She started to walk by but couldn't resist the lure of the chest and not knowing if there was a treasure inside. "Angel, these cache boxes, is there actually anything good in them? Seriously, I'm like zero for four on any good finds."

"Hey, it's hit or miss with them. It's supposed to be if you take something you leave something behind, but people don't usually follow through with it."

"Hmm, maybe it's the super Fort Knox secure code that you used."

Angel chuckled. "Yeah, it was brought up before to have it changed, but then people forgot the new code."

"Well, this one better have a treasure, I'm due for something good, dammit."

"Hee-hee, let me know. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat."

"Here we go, opening the treasure chest, and I get a…" Chloe's smile dropped along with her heart.

.  
.. 

"So what did you get? Is it filled with the camper's treasure of rolls of toilet paper?" Angel asked

.  
..  
…

"Scout? What was in the cache?"

.  
..

"Chloe?"

.  
..

Chloe's voice was quiet when she spoke, "Was Mitch Michaels found?"

"Mitch? Oh, the poster. Ah, from what I remember, there was a search for him in the Park the season he disappeared. It was before the front gate staff recorded vehicle license plates coming in and leaving the park. It was reported that he was going to stay a weekend at a campsite. The Services did a full manhunt for him and didn't find anything. The cars that were at the park during the time, their licenses were checked out and nothing came up as Mitch's. So it was concluded that he left the park before the weekend was over and didn't inform the station. It's an old missing person poster a family member gave one of the Rangers. I'm sure he showed up eventually, but no one at the front gate was informed. But because of him, the Services have a new system in place for recording car's licenses that come in and out of the park along with campers signing in and out."

.  
..

"Did you find anything else in the treasure chest?"

.  
..

"Chloe… you okay?"

.  
..

Chloe's voice was strained when she spoke. Angel also heard her sniff. "Ah, yeah, I'm fine."

Angel softly stated, "You don't sound fine." 

"I'm fine, just stupid allergies n' shit." Chloe sniffed. "I'm gonna continue on down-" Chloe's voice faded away. She had to clear her throat to continue, "-to Five Mile, talk to you in a bit, o-over and out."

Angel replied, a little concerned, "Yeah, sure, Chlo, just… let me know you're okay. I know… I know it's all new to you being out here. And it's your first time away from home. Emotions can crawl up unannounced pretty easily when you're on your own. A-and I know there isn't physically anyone around you… and it can be hard. It's a big change... but yeah. Uhmm, we're here, all the watchers, and you can talk, if you want, about anything to us. No one is here to judge you in any way."

Chloe sat on the ground with tear-stained cheeks with the missing person's poster in her hand. She shook her head, swore and wiped the tears away. Chloe let her anger run through her and got to her feet. She replied a little harshly, "I said I'm fine. It's my fuckin' allergies. You don't need to worry about me, alright? Over and out!"

Angel opened her mouth to reply but thought it was best not to push any further and she moved away from the microphone. She took a controlled breath, lifted up her guitar and started to quietly play. Angel lowered her head onto the guitar's body and let the music help her fade away for a few moments.

Chloe looked at the poster once again and her anger was forced back replaced by another emotion. _I miss you_. The strong emotion hurt too much, her mind wouldn't let go of old memories. Chloe placed the poster back, carefully closed the box then walked away. She didn't take anything that was left behind. It didn't feel right. For some reason, the box felt more like a coffin.

Chloe walked further down the path. She felt dejected. She looked around the trail, seeing the bushes and trees sway in the wind.

She heard a songbird and a bee buzzing around. Chloe was physically and mentally alone. She lifted her radio to her mouth and tried to speak. She failed. She tried again.

Angel stopped playing her guitar, hearing the radio breaks from Chloe pressing the button. Chloe's hand dropped to her side and more tears fell. She chewed her lip and looked around, trying to stop the tears, and sniffed again. _I don't want to be this way... I don't want to be alone._ Angel pressed the talk lock button on her microphone and began to play. Chloe closed her eyes and swallowed, listening to the music, letting it in to calm her. She placed her radio back on her belt, turned up the volume and continued down the path.

\-------------------

Angel's music had stopped for a while, leaving Chloe feeling a little better. Still, her memories of Rachel and how they spent the past few years together ran over and over in her mind. She was brought out of them when Angel spoke.

"Chloe, can you please give me your location and status?"

Chloe cleared her throat. "I'm, ah, still heading toward Five Mile Creek."

"And the fire status, please?"

"Ahh, give me a sec to get a view of it."

.  
..

Chloe replied, looking at the smoke plume, "Yeah, it's about the same."

"Okay, that's good, thank you."

.  
..

"Sorry, for being a dick to you again," Chloe said, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"You weren't, Chlo."

"I, ahh… that missing poster brought up... I had a f-friend… a really close friend who disappeared a few months back."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"S-she… she was found… I spent so much time putting up posters and asking people if they had seen her. We were going to leave town together and head to California when school was done. And for a while, I thought she had left without me. I couldn't understand why she had left without me. I got mad at her because of it, cause I thought she lov-…" Chloe sniffed, swallowed and took a bigger breath of air. "It turns out she had never left town…" Chloe lost her voice. She took a moment before she continued. "Her body was, ahhh... f-found by the owner of the junkyard." Chloe wrapped an arm around herself. "She was… she was murdered." Chloe's voice was strained and shaky and she looked up to keep her tears from falling again. "I miss her. I miss her so much."

Angel wiped her tears away, holding a hand over her heart. "Chloe, I am so sorry that happened to her and to you."

Chloe replied quietly, "Yeah, thanks... a-after Rachel's d-death, I, ahhh, I didn't know what to do… I still really don't." Chloe sniffed. "My mom and I don't have a good relationship and I have never gotten along with my stepfather." Chloe quickly wiped a tear away. "I dropped out of high school... I just…" She placed a hand on the back of her neck and lowered her head down to look at the ground. "It was time to leave everything. I have no one left." She scuffed the ground with her boot.

There was a long pause over the radio. Chloe felt like an idiot telling this woman she had known less than forty-eight hours some of her life's story. _Yeah, cause she wants to hear about my shitty life. Fuck, I'm a loser._ "I… sorry. I'll stop."

"Chloe," Angel softly said.

"I'm an idiot, sorry, it's not your job to listen to a teen's fucked up shit. It's childish."

"Chloe, it's not childish, not one bit of it. You lost someone you cared for… a lot. And it sounds like you had no support from your family to help you. Like I said the first night here, this job is usually taken by people who are trying to deal with something. Any time you wanna talk, I'll listen, 24/7, yeah?"

"T-thanks."

"No problem, really."

Chloe didn't want to be alone and she didn't want to talk about her past anymore, so she changed the subject and continued talking, "So, I'm in, like, a wooded area."

Angel went with the change of subject. She hummed and tried to get Chloe's mood to change, "Really? A wooded area? In a park?!" She lightly chuckled.

Chloe let out a puff of air, smiled a little and rolled her eyes. "Quiet, you." She chuckled. Angel smiled, hearing the girl chuckle. "It's, I think, fuck," Chloe cleared her throat and took a deep breath then wiped her eyes to get her mind back into the here and now. "I dunno the tree types. The bark is white and it's really, well, it's kinda lush in this area compared to everywhere else."

"Ah, you're in Aspen Grove. Those trees are actually one root organism."

"No shit?"

Angel giggled at Chloe's genuine interest. "Yeah, they share their water as a colony that can live for hundreds of years, even through fire."

"Hmph, nature is kinda metal, being able to get through a fire."

\-------------------

Chloe took a picture of a small waterfall she had found as she followed a stream once she left the grove. "Dude, this waterfall out here is pretty. The chicks should've skinny-dipped here instead. Hell, I might do it myself."

"Hmm yeah, Five Mile Falls is nice... and it is a good place to skinny dip... well, not really to swim but yeah, you get what I'm saying."

"Ouu la la, Angel does have a little devil streak in her."

Angel chuckled. "Well, when you're out here in the woods for months, you do have to get cleaned up and the falls are great for that."

"Yeah." Chloe smelled herself. "I'm probably smelling kinda rank right now. I should come down here one day instead of using the bag shower."

"Do it, it's relaxing." Angel sighed with a smile. "Never-ending water supply."

Chloe chuckled and looked around the area. "That actually sounds really good." She squinted and walked over to a tree. "Hey, I just found a towel."

"Looks like someone else had the same idea," Angel replied.

"Wonder if it was the chicks?" Chloe asked, looking around.

"They do like to skinny dip. Or it could be a new hiker that we don't know about since I haven't been updated on anything."

Chloe put the towel in her pack and continued on, away from the creek and grove. "Hey, I see a campsite, and a burned down campfire."

"Is it the girls?"

"I don't see anyone around."

"Okay, announce that you're in the area with a 'hello.' You don't want to scare people. Then again, if it's them, you might want to."

Chloe chuckled. "Whoever it is, they left the campfire smoldering."

" _*Sigh*_ I swear to dog I wish we could give out fines."

Chloe stomped out the smoldering remains then walked towards the tent. "Son of a bitch." Chloe picked up a Firewalk shirt on the ground. "Whoever it is, they're the ones that broke into my tower. I just found one of my shirts." Chloe felt hurt that someone took something that held so much meaning to her. _Didn't know this was missing._

"Really? You sure it's yours?"

"Yeah, it's a tour shirt Rach brought back from a trip. It has a rip in it, I did it when I fell off my skateboard a few years back. Chloe held it to her chest and closed her eyes, seeing a blonde from her memories. _You wore this when you slept over._ Chloe opened her eyes, glared and clenched her jaw. "Those mother fuckers!" She walked towards the tent.

"Chloe... Chlo, be careful, please. Don't hurt anyone."

"I'm gonna bust some heads, whoever-" Chloe looked down at the ground again. "Yeah, it's them. I just found a case of Red Eagle beer." Chloe looked at the tent a few feet away then looked around the area. _Where the fuck are those bitches?_ She took off her pack and put whatever beer was left into it, along with her shirt. _Fuck 'em, stealin' my shit, I take what's yours._ She walked towards the tent with a smirk. _I should growl like a bear then roar to scare the shit- fuck that, I should just kick the shit outta them._ As Chloe walked around, her anger dropped and her eyes widened. She quickly looked around. "Angel, their fucking tent is ripped to shreds."

"What?!" Replied surprised.

"Their tent is ripped to shreds," Chloe repeated. She kept an eye out for any type of movement around her. "Shit is everywhere. Their sleeping bags are torn, their camping supplies are all over the place." Chloe looked at the shredded sleeping bag. "Holy fuck, a bear, or something, was here."

"Shit. K, please tell me you took the Services bear bell that was in the supplies."

"Yeah, I took it." Chloe knelt, paying attention to what was around her as she dug her hand into her pack.

"Start ringing it. If it's a bear or another predatory animal, it could scare them off, at least let them know someone is around."

Chloe started clanging the bell as she stood up. "Fuck, I don't want to be here."

"Okay, Chloe, is there any blood around, like they were attacked?"

Chloe looked around. "N-no, I don't see any blood."

"K, make your way back. Keep using the bell and call out a few times. I hope that the girls were not at their campsite when this happened. They could've made a run for it, I don't know, but keep an eye out. I'm right by the radio, I'm here with you. I'm going to start another radio tag to get the word out, and hopefully we can get to a Ranger or the front gate to let them know."

"Y-yeah, sure. I'm outta here." Before she left, Chloe took a few quick pictures and then noticed a note taped to one of the tent posts on the opposite side.

_Dear PSYCHO!_

_I hope you're fucking happy. We're leaving and going_

_To the RANGERS or to the POLICE! And telling them_

_about how you creeped on us at the lake! And how_

_you destroyed our campsite and stuff. OH! And stealing_

_panties is fucked up! You fucking weirdo! You're probably_

_a mental fucking headcase. The police will deal with you_

_and I will sue your loser ass! I hope it was worth it_

_JERK over some fireworks. What the fuck is wrong_

_with you!!! Loser!_

"Angel, I found a note the girls left. They think I'm the one that did this to their campsite! They said they're going to tell the Rangers or the police what I did! They think I did this! What the fuck, I wasn't even around this area till now! Jesus, all I did was tell them not to use their fucking fireworks. And they break in, trash my place n' steal my shit. Now they have the fucking nerve to tell the police I did this?!"

"Chloe, hold on, slow down. Does it look like an animal went through the site?"

"Fuck, I don't know. Their shit is shredded."

"Are there any bear tracks or other tracks around?"

Chloe looked around. "No, I don't see any. There's a lot of grass here... I don't want to be here! I didn't do this! Why do I always get blamed for shit?!"

"Chlo, no one is blaming you, okay?"

"Yeah, tell that to the fucking police when I get arrested and charged. No one will believe me over those two girls. This is fucked up!"

"I know, Chlo, take a breath and calm yourself. I believe you. If it wasn't a bear or whatever, the girls could've pissed off someone else and they got angry. I've seen it happen before, but not on this type of scale."

"What the fuck is wrong with people?!" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, Chlo; that's enough for today. I want you back at the tower and safe."

"The tower isn't safe, Angel."

"Just please come back to the tower."

"Yeah, I'm already on my way."

Chloe, with her long stride, left the area, keeping an eye on her path and another one on the lookout for anyone or anything around her.

\--------------------------

[Fleetwood Mac - Landslide](https://youtu.be/mXonGAEPQp8)


	4. Day 3

**DAY 3**

Chloe had spent another restless night in the tower letting the generator run most of the night to light the surrounding area. She also dragged the desk over, blocking the door then placed a kitchen knife next to her by the bed. Chloe had sat up most of the night leaning against the wall watching the opposite side, wondering if someone would slowly peer up over one of the window frames by the staircase access.

This morning Chloe was up and on the move again once there was enough light.

She placed another plank up against the broken window frame nailing it into place to cover and secure the broken window.

"Hey, Chloe," Angel greeted the Watcher over the two way.

Chloe stepped into the tower [turned down the music](https://youtu.be/YGg_mVBqXVo?t=15) and picked up her two-way radio off the charging station. "Hey."

"How’s your morning?"

Chloe replied as she walked back to the window, "Oh, you know, planking up a broken window... wondering if a bear or someone will attack me for no reason."

"Sorry."

Chloe sighed. _Yep, already acting like an idiot_. "No, sorry. I didn’t get enough sleep last night and I’m kinda wired on coffee right now. Heh, I have no trouble hitting the nails to board up the window, I’m like a hammering machine."

Angel chuckled, "Like a woodpecker armed with a hammer." Chloe smiled looked up and leaned to the side, peering at Angel’s watchtower in the distance. "Whaddya up to, Sunshine?"

"Doin’ the norm, sitting and watchin’."

"Ah, big day."

"Yeah, so, ah... w-what do you look like n’ stuff?"

Chloe stopped what she was doing and smirked a little. "Wwwhy? Your binoculars not good enough?"

"My set isn’t that strong," Angel chuckling, You’re like a blip; a fuzzy, blue-headed blip."

"Why do yah wanna know? You know I’m a punk and shit gets blamed on me, so there you go."

"No-no." Chloe closed her eyes again at her negative come back, _stop being a jerk._ Angel clarified, "I-I mean, physically, what do you look like? And, for the record, I don’t know who you were before three days ago, but what I do know, I like." Chloe played with the hammer in her hand, glanced up at Angel’s tower again and thought for a moment. She smirked. "I’m hot and fucking adorable."

Angel giggled. "Okay."

Chloe smiled. "Five nine."

"Holy Chriiist, that’s tall!"

Chloe chuckled at Angel’s reaction. "What about you, then?"

"Ah, five… f-five? N’ a bit?"

Chloe laughed, "Did you not drink any milk growing up? Pff, ‘growing up,’ heh."

"You shush. I love milk. It just didn’t… make me friggin’ grow, alright?"

"Haha!"

"Ughhh, I‘ll still keep dreaming, hoping and praying to the gods and leave them sacrifices in hopes I will get another growth spurt." Chloe giggled as Angel continued, "So I know you have blue hair... which is cool, by the way. I could never do it."

"You should, it’s awesome. What color’s yours?"

"It’s kinda dark brown, lame-o, I know. What color are your eyes?"

"Blue," Chloe said, then a little more matter of factly, "I’ve been told that they are my best feature. Yours?"

"Blue also, and I have no best feature."

"I highly doubt that, Angel. You have a nice voice." Chloe placed another plank against the window frame and put a nail in her mouth. "I haven’t seen you yet but if I’m going by the voice, I’m sure you have it goin’ on with everything else."

"I-I…" Angel cleared her throat and Chloe smirked. _Bet you’re blushing now, too_. Angel continued, "Okay, s-so far I have you as a blue-headed giraffe... what else?"

"Heh, why do you want to know this?"

"I just want a picture in my head of what you look like. Aaand I might be drawing you."

Chloe stopped what she was doing. "You draw?"

"I got into it a couple of years ago, art therapy."

"I did some drawing when I was a kid, then I got more into graffiti."

Angel laughed, "I guess there’s a few Chloe tags around?"

"Maaaybe," Chloe replied with a nail hanging from her lips.

"Okay, I got what I need."

"Well, glad to be of service, my Angel." Chloe started to hammer a nail into the wood. She stopped for a moment and picked up the two-way. "Hey, you’re not, like, answering a relationship ad in the paper, are you?"

Angel giggled, "Dammit, how did you know!"

"Well, only reply to the F/F section."

"Ah, oh..."

Chloe peeked out from the planked window frame and at Angel’s tower again. "Is that a problem?"

"N-no, no, not at all... Well, there goes my plan," Angel giggled, "The only ads are from guys. Sorry, Scout, I can’t set you up."

"Uuuugh, whatever will I do?"

Chloe finished patching up the window frame a few minutes later. "So I got the window secured. What’s next, Boss Lady."

"What’s next? What do you think is next?"

"I dunno, you’ve been giving me tasks for the last two days. Isn’t that what an employee does when they’re finished with a task, they ask for another one?"

"Oh, riiiight. What’s next is kinda hard. You have to SIT, in that room till September 1st and radio me at the first sign of smoke."

"Oookay," Chloe replied, nodding.

"Why don’t you let me know when you’re ready for that workload and I’ll give it to you." Chloe put the hammer and nails away then toss an extra plank over the side of the tower. She got on the radio and replied as if she were a recruit in the army. "Okay. I think I am ready to tackle my long-term commitment to keeping this National Forest safe from total destruction… Ma’am."

Angel replied the same way, Chloe knew she was smiling. "I am glad to hear that, Scout. Have you really thought this through?"

"I never think things through, Ma’am."

Angel giggled, then cleared her throat and went back into her official ‘military tone,’ "Scout, we, at the National Forest Service, issued you a ‘comfy’ wooden chair, and by ‘comfy’ I mean you may get a splinter from it. Here are your steps to follow. Step one: Haul the chair away from the desk. Step two: Plant your butt in the chair. Step three: Look out the window and search for smoke. You will have to turn your head in each direction to do so. Step four: If you see smoke, report it to me. Do you understand these steps?"

"Hmm," Chloe sighed and opened a beer. "I don’t know… what was step three again?" Chloe took a big mouthful of a drink.

"Ah, shit, was it to sit your butt down, or drink? Damn." The two chuckled.

"I can do both, Ma’am."

"Ou, a multitasker, you will go far in this company."

Chloe thought, _she doesn’t mind me drinking beer?… then again she doesn’t know I took the beer._ Chloe took another mouthful as Angel continued, "Remember, the Service depends on you, Scout. Make Forrest Brynes proud."

"Fuck that creepy guy, I’ll make you proud."

Angel giggled. "I leave you to your job, good luck, Scout, n’ have fun."

Chloe smiled. "Will do."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Day 4**

Chloe sat on the broken arch in Thunder Canyon having dinner and watched the world around her.

"Hey Scout, how are you this evening?" Angel asked over the radio.

Chloe pushed the food in her mouth over to a cheek, "Hey you, doin’ good. It was a nice day out here. Sunsets really pretty this evening."

"Good. Uhmm... ah, I’m sorry to bring you out of your nice evening."

Chloe took a drink of her beer and replied, "Uh-oh, what’s up?"

"I, ahh, have some bad news." Chloe looked at her radio listening as Angel continued. "Two teens, Victoria Chase and Taylor Christensen were reported missing. Their parents haven’t heard from them in over a week. Our records show they arrived over a week ago and were camping in the Two Forks area. The front gate doesn’t have a record of their sign-out signatures. Ah... they’ve started the procedure of getting car license plates that are parked in the lots to see if they’re still here. They could have very well left during the night when the front gate staff was gone and closed for the night. If they're the girls from the lake ... I’ve already reported to them what you saw at the campsite."

Chloe cleared her throat, "Shit… oh fuck. What do we do? It’s a long hike out of here and they left all their stuff."

"Nothing right now, we’ll wait till I hear back to see if their vehicle is gone. Then again, they could’ve been dropped off at the time. Just sit tight for now, our job is to look for fires. If the Services have to do a search, they have a team and volunteers they call. I just wanted to pass on the information."

"Angel, should I go out and start looking for them?" _Fuck I shouldn't have tossed their radio in the lake_.

"No, no. Like I said, we do our jobs, okay? If they were out there they would’ve gone to one of the stations or towers if they were in trouble. They stole your clothes so they knew where your tower is."

"Fuck. _*Sigh*_ Yeah, right _._ "

"Sorry to bring you down. I’m sure the girls took off during the night, I just wanted to give you the heads up."

"Yeah, thanks."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Scout."

"Yeah, tomorrow, later Angel." Chloe put her sandwich back in her container, she didn’t feel hungry anymore.

That night Chloe had to have a window open in the tower, with a high humidity she slept on top of her bedsheets and blanket and just wore a shirt. A soft, soothing voice quietly sang out, "♫Chloe... Chloe, wake up♫" Chloe barely lifted her heavy eyelids. "♫Chloeee, get out of bed♫" Chloe rolled out of bed in the darkness and shuffled over to the two-way radio. She groggily replied, "Hey Rach."

Rachel replied quietly with a calm, caring voice, "Heeey you, you sound tired."

"I am, I can't sleep." Chloe stood up feeling a little dizzy and swayed on her feet. She slowly shuffled over to the sink.

"Aww. Are you having a nice time?"

Chloe slowly replied with her eyes closed, "Mmm, it’s ah… it’s been okay, you would like it here, babe."

Rachel sighed, "I know I would with you. Keep at it Chloe, I can see you’re doing well."

"K," Chloe mumbled.

"Angel seems nice."

"Yeah, she is."

"You be good to her."

Chloe slightly nodded, "K."

"Okay, I’ll let you get back to sleep then."

"K, night babe."

"K, night Chlo, sweet dreams."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DAY 5**

Chloe looked at her map, trying to figure out where she was in the Thorofare Basin area. There were old burnt trees around the area along with a few saplings and lush flowers. "Ahhh." She pressed the radio button. "Is it too much of a pain in the ass to have them bring supplies all the way up to our towers?"

"Well, I get my stuff hand-delivered," Angel replied.

"How the hell?"

"Ah, it’s the perks of being the head Watcher. You’re hiking in 90 (32℃) degree heat and I get to read books and draw. Life is totally unfair, right?" Angel chuckled. "Anyway, when you find the supply drop, remember, it’s not just for you. Other Watchers, Rangers, and biologists get their food or supplies there, so take only your stuff."

Chloe furrowed her brow. "You don’t trust me?"

"I trust you. I do, Chlo, but if you see a case of beer of a flask of rum..."

"Ah, shit, I wouldn’t trust me either," Chloe chuckled.

"Yeah, I know the temptation is hard. But believe me, whoever ordered it will keep a close eye on it and if it’s missing... people, like you, have been waiting for supplies and the other stuff they ordered. Finding out that it’s not there tends to piss off people really easily."

"I get that. Yeah, if someone swiped my bacon, heads are gonna fuckin’ roll."

"Ouu, you got bacon?"

"Damn right I did, maple smoked bacon, too, Sista."

"Drool. I shoulda ordered some. I dunno the last time I had bacon. It must have been, like, yesterday..." Angel giggled.

"Aaah, you suck."

Angel giggled more as Chloe noticed the cache come into sight.

.  
..

"So, Chlo… uhmm, you doin’ okay? Just checking up on the new recruit. It can be difficult being alone."

Chloe looked at her radio a little confused. "Ah, yeah, doin’ okay. I’m kinda used to being on my own."

"Uhmm..."

"Spit it out, what’s up?"

Angel spoke unsure of herself. "Y-you called me in the m-middle of the night. I heard… I heard y-you mumbling and you said, ‘Rach.’ A-are you getting enough sleep? Or are you, like... uhmm, a sleepwalker or talker?" Angel quickly added. "I didn’t know, it’s not a big deal or any deal at all. I mean, I heard that you’re not supposed to wake a sleepwalker so I, ahh, let you talk n’ stuff. I just wanted to y'know check up on you. S-so, you doin’ okay?"

Chloe didn’t answer for a moment. She was kinda shocked at what she had done. _Shit, I didn’t even blaze before I slept... I was sleepwalking and talking?!_ Embarrassed, Chloe replied, "I’m okay."

"Good, then... I’m glad." Angel noticed Chloe’s tone had changed.

.  
..

"Chlo."

"Yeah?"

"Uhmm, I… I left someone that I cared about over four years ago. They were going through a really, really hard time and I left them. I, ahh, said I would do things to help and... I didn’t. I should’ve, I really should’ve, but I… I started to go through my own i-issues. I started getting mad at myself because of what I did or didn’t do. And I started to do things to myself... stupid things… I… I just wanted you to know that, uhmm, y-you told me about stuff that happened to you… s-so, you know... there’s uhmm, now something that you know about me. And… yeah, if you ever want to talk..."

Chloe took in the new information about her co-worker and she replied quietly, "I’m doin’ okay Angel... How are you doin’?"

"Okay… I’m, ahh, I’m doin’ well."

Chloe smiled. "Then we’re both havin’ a good day, yeah?"

Angel puffed a little air through her nose. "Yeah, today is a good day."

Chloe stood in front of the supply cache box and she teased, "Sooo, how mad would this person at Moss Peak really be if I took their rum?"

"Oh please, Chlo, don’t." Angel’s tone changed to worry.

Chloe chuckled. "Fiiine, but just because you asked and you’re cool."

"So what will be your first meal with the new supplies?"

"Eat all the bacon! Nooom-nom-nom-nom."

The two girls lightly chuckled. "Easy there, Chlozilla."

"Never! Must eat all da bacon."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DAY 6**

[ Chloe's small portable radio quietly played](https://youtu.be/agBf56AGskk) from inside the tower. It was a clear, hot, late night that made it hard to sleep once more because of the humidity. She had her two-way radio in her hand, speaking with Angel as she stood outside wearing her sleepwear of an oversized tank top. She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the tower railings as she slowly blew smoke out from her lungs. Her voice and body were tired from hiking that day. "-Jesus, that... that went up really fast. It was only a plume of smoke at noon." Chloe looked out at a forest fire she had spotted in their sector.

Angel with her voice quiet and relaxed replied after she swallowed some of her drink, which Chloe had found out was rum. "You’ve got a front-row seat for what might be our biggest fire of the year."

She added, "I’m going to start the radio tag and send another update. The hotshot crew should be here by tomorrow morning and start the suppression but I bet we’ll be stuck with her for the rest of the summer."

"Okay. Should I be worried or somethin’?" Chloe wasn’t worried about too much right now as she took another hit from her joint.

Angel took a long slow breath of air before she replied. "No worries, it’s far from you... I love how they look at night, they make for some amazing pictures..." There was a moment of silence between the two. Angel quietly added, "I’m glad you’re here."

Chloe turned her head, looked at Angel’s tower on the far ridge and quietly replied. "I’m glad I’m here too."

"I, ah... don’t talk to the other lookouts like I talk with you. I dunno if it’s an age thing and we have nothing in common or if they don’t like me... but it’s nice talking with you. I… I wasn't able to keep friends in high school, just found it easier not to have any. But… yeah... talking n' stuff. It's easier too since it’s not face to face." Angel sighed then cleared her throat. Chloe heard her pour up another drink. "Uhmm, sso ahh, the fire doesn’t have a name yet, and you spotted it. Care to have the honors? I usually come up with something funny, or practical, it's up to you."

"Hmm, what about Chloe’s Wrath?"

Angel swallowed and spoke, "Mmmm, do you really want something named after you that destroys wild and tree life?"

"Ahh, no…" Chloe smirked, "How about Firecrotch."

Angel yawned and tiredly chuckled. "Hmmm, you really need to get that checked out." The two girls lightly giggled.

"Uhmm... What about Bluebeard?"

There was the sound of something dropping in front of the microphone and Angel's voice cracked when she replied, "Chloe?!"

"Yeah, you okay? You drop something?" Chloe smiled a little. _Someone hit their limit_.

.  
..

"Ah, y-yeah ah, I-I should call this in, sorry, I need to go."

"Sure thing, g’night, my Angel."

Angel replied quietly, "Night… Chlo." She held down the talk button for a few extra seconds then took her hand away.

Chloe stared for a moment, lost in thought at Angel’s tower. She then let it go. She leaned into her tower’s room and took the bottle of whiskey off her desk and went back out. She stared at the fire then raised the bottle. "Here’s to you Bluebeard, the scourge of Shoshone." Chloe took a mouthful letting it burn her tongue and cheeks. She then swallowed, ready to fade away, wishing someone was standing next to her.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DAY 10**

"You’re going fishing without a license?!" Angel said in the sunny afternoon.

"It’s one fish. And I’m sick of all the stuff I’ve got to eat." Chloe replied as she walked towards the lake with the fishing gear she found in the tower.

"You just had a supply drop less than a week ago! Did they not get everything on your list?"

"Yeah, they got everything." Chloe stopped walking. "I… I tried to eat healthy n' got, like, stupid, non-yummy food. Bacon was my cheat food and it’s all gone, along with the mini powdered donuts, Pop-Tarts… and Goldfish crackers." She started walking again. "Everything that’s left is hippy food. Gods, what was I thinking?" Angel chuckled. "So I gotta eat and I doubt that Domino’s Pizza will deliver, so fish is the next best thing." 

"Ahh..."

"Hey, you said the Services let things slide... it’s just one fish, Angel. I’m not, like, throwing out a net here."

Angel gave in. "Fiiine. But please be aware that if you catch something that means that Mr. Bear can now smell it. And since there’s a fire, the wildlife is on the move and maybe venturing into your area. So keep an eye out. If you see any tracks, leave. And… fuck, if you see one, you have your bell, right?"

"Yeah-yeah, Mom, I have my little, scary dinner bell."

"Don’t say that. I'm just... I’m trying to keep you safe."

Chloe smiled. "I know... thank you."

\------------------

Thirty minutes later, Chloe walked out of the brush and looked at Jonesy Lake. She walked around, keeping to the shoreline, and headed to a tree for shade to get out of the hot sun noticing a cache box. _Shit, I shoulda walked up this path before._ Chloe put her hand on the door. "Hmm, let me guess, another pinecone aaaand-" she opened the box, "another note."

_Ron-_

_Got some bad news back home so hopefully, they’ll let me out of here for a while. Who’s to say, though, budgets being what they are._

_Did you get my note about what went down in Wapiti? Sheriff isn’t too pleased with me, but, I don’t know I probably overdid it._

_Wish you woulda been there, I guess you must have got hung up_

_-Dave_

She closed the box and headed for the shade of the tree extending out over the lake. As she got closer she noticed a clipboard on a rock. "Hey, Angel?"

Angel quickly replied, "Did you see a bear?!"

"W-what? No. I..." Chloe quickly looked around and then on the ground for tracks. "No. Someone left their clipboard out here."

"Hmm, it could’ve been one of the fish and game folks. Y’know, looking for people illegally fishing."

"Har har." Chloe lightly shook her head.

Angel chuckled, "It’s probably a Ranger’s notes, maybe one of the biologists? Is there a name on it so I can call it in? They’re probably going crazy looking for it."

Chloe flipped through the pages, letting her rod slip through her arm. "It’s... ho-ly ssshit?!" Chloe’s voice sounded worried. "What the-"

"What’s wrong?"

Chloe replied, upset, "Someone has written down what we said to each other-... have been saying to each other!"

"What?"

Chloe reading back what was on the clipboard. "‘I don’t talk to the other lookouts like I talk with you.’"

Angel sounded hurt at Chloe’s teasing her about opening up, "That’s not funny." There was a sound behind Chloe. She turned as a few birds flew up into the air from a nearby bush. "Fuck, there’s something out here."

"Chloe?" Angel replied, worried.

Chloe walked toward a different path, hearing the sound of a high reverberating squelch. Walking closer she noticed a two-way radio on the ground.

Chloe looked around. "Who’s there?!"

Angel spoke, "Chloe, let me know you’re okay." 

Chloe crouched and picked up a red two-way radio. As she stood up she felt something hit the back of her head and she fell to the ground...

.  
..  
…  
….

Chloe thought she heard her name in the distance. It was muffled... _Yeah, yeah mom, I’m getting up_. She winced in pain and rolled to her side. _Fuck, I drank too much_. She couldn’t pick out what was being said to her. _Augh, my head._

"Chloe! Chloe! Please answer me! Chloe! Jesus fucking Christ, CHLOE!" Angel’s voice cracked with emotion. "Fuck, oh my God, please don’t do this to me. I promise, please, I promise I will do it. Chloe, please answer me… please!"

Chloe blinked a few times and sat up, holding the back of her head. She started to come to and pressed the radio button. Her voice cracked from a dry throat, she mumbled in confusion, "Ma-Angel?"

"Chloe! Oh Jesus, are you okay? What happened!? Do you need medical help?!"

"Aughhh, I got hit in the head. S-some..one or thing..." Chloe took a couple of deep breaths to try and clear her head, she wiped her hand across her nose and noticed dried blood, she coughed as her body tried to produce some saliva. "I heard something behind me and I walked up the trail." Chloe looked up with the sun blazing down on her, she squinted from the light. "N' I found a walkie… then something hit me." Chloe put a hand to the back of her head and winced in pain. "Fuck." She checked for blood and didn't see any.

"Jesus Christ… Chloe, please, can… are you able to leave the area? Please go back to the tower." Chloe slowly got to her feet, taking a moment to clear another wave of dizziness. "Chloe, please come home."

"Yeeah, I’m... walking back now."

"Stay on the radio, please, just talk to me, okay?"

"K."

"Did you see what hit you?"

Chloe looked around holding the back of her head. "No, but the radio and the clipboard I found are gone."

"Okay, keep moving Chlo. I’m with you, I’m not leaving you. Talk to me, please, about anything, so I know you’re still there."

Chloe took a deep lungful of air and let it out. "W-what’ss Wapiti Station?"

"I-I-I..."

"I saw the name Wapiti Station on the clipboard."

"There’s a Wapiti meadow. It’s north, northeast of the lake."

Chloe stopped in her path. She swayed for a moment and breathed another big lungful of air and she let her emotion out. The anger quickly built. She took out her map and looked for the direction of the meadow. Chloe clenched her jaw. She took off her pack and took out an item that she had ordered, attaching a large sheathed hunting knife to her belt.

"I’m going to the meadow, I’ll talk to you later."

Angel immediately replied. "What?! Chloe, don’t! Please."

Chloe started to let out her held anger. _My dad’s dead, best friend leaves. Got kicked out of school. Joyce marries a fuckin' asshole. Rachel cheated on me and was murdered._ Her thoughts became vocal to the wildlife, "My fucking tower was broken into, my shit was stolen, I’m getting blamed for trashing a campsite, someone just fucking hit me... and our conversations are being listened to. I’m not takin’ it any fuckin’ more!"

"Chloe, please come home, I’ve already reported what happened to you. The Rangers will check it out once they get the word. Please."

Chloe replied to Angel, "No! Fuck this shit, I’m tired of playing nice!"

Angel kept calling to Chloe to answer her radio. Chloe had turned the volume down as she made her way to the meadow. After a while, Angel stopped calling for her.

\-------------------

Chloe reached another gulch. She clipped on and repelled down, letting her anger and adrenaline run through her.

"Chloe?" Angel tried again.

.  
..

"Chloe, I know you’re angry… and I know you don’t want to talk. I’m sorry that this has happened to you. I know... I know that you came up here to get away from things… I… please just click the radio button to let me know you’re okay… please, I’m worried about you."

Chloe, as she marched through the woods, not taking her eyes off the path and on the lookout for any movements, clicked the radio button twice.

"Okay, thank you, Chlo… I’m here right by the radio. I’m not going anywhere."

Thirty minutes later Chloe was forced to stop. Her way was blocked by a fence.

She cursed, swore, and walked further to the east to see where the fence ended, wondering if she could get in. "How big is this fenced off area?" Chloe asked.

Angel, again, replied right away, "A-ah, I-I don’t know."

Chloe's voice had an edge to it. "Why don’t you know? You’re supposed to be the boss out here, why didn’t they tell you?"

"I don’t know why I wasn’t told... If you're north of the lake and a few days ago you reported seeing a fence also north of Mule Point, that is a massive area! I should’ve been told."

"Fucking typical assholes."

"I don’t know what the hell is going on out there."

"Well, they didn’t want you to know." Chloe stood at the locked gate and kicked it out of anger. She then took out her hunting knife and tried to wedge the lock open as Angel spoke.

"I know biologists will fence off an area to study flora n’ stuff, they even had an archeologist in one season for a dig. Both areas were fenced off, but it was only a few square feet."

Chloe stepped back when she couldn’t wedge the lock open. She kicked the door a few times. Once again, her anger led her to act. She picked up a large rock and hit the padlock a few times, trying to break it. "FUCK!"

"Chloe? Chloe, you climbed the fence didn’t you?"

Chloe tossed the large rock away when it didn’t work and replied, "No, my boots can’t get into the links. Plus there’s barbed wire around the top."

"What?"

"Yeah, how many biologists need barbed wire fencing?"

"You didn’t say it had barbed wire the other day?!"

Chloe leaned up against the fence and looked as far as she could see. She spotted something off the trail. Chloe looked from side to side, she needed to get higher to see. She ran to a set of large rocks and climbed up on top. She looked, wide-eyed and slowly raised the radio to her mouth. Her voice had lost its anger. "Angel... you remember when I found the teens' backpacks and I said one was red the other was green plaid?"

"Yeah?"

"I’m looking at a green plaid backpack that’s hidden behind some rocks in the fenced-off area."

"Chloe, it’s just a backpack. I’m sure it doesn't belong to one of the girls. You need to come back."

"Don’t tell me to go back! I’m not letting this go, not now. Either help me or stop talking." Chloe leaned over feeling a wave of dizziness again.

.  
..

Chloe clipped her radio back onto her belt when Angel never replied. Chloe tried to force it out of her head, but it was there, strong, pushing forward along with a massive headache. _The police investigation reported that the teen was taken into an underground bunker where she was a drugged..._ Chloe put her head in her hands and hauled her hair to get rid of the image that was in her head. She needed to get in; the only thing she had was a two-pound hammer back at the tower that wouldn’t work since she'd already tried using a ten-pound rock on the lock. Chloe felt her heartbeat quicken and her breathing became shaky.

Angel quietly spoke, "There are firefighters doing a controlled burn east of you in the Ruby River area, they uhmm, might have a tool or something you can use."

Chloe held up her map and noticed her hands were shaking. Ruby River was all the way east and back into the area where the teen girls' campsite was. _Fuck Fuck Fuck._ She didn’t know if Angel was intentionally leading her away from the area and towards the Two Forks tower in the hope that she would calm down and give up. _I’m not letting this go… I can’t._ Chloe bunched up her map, unable to get it to fold correctly and left the area.

\-------------------

Chloe entered Thunder Canyon Cave, feeling the coolness of the surroundings. She unclipped her radio, looking at her path. "Has anything like this happened before? I mean with break-ins and people getting attacked?"

Angel was still there. "Sometimes the cache boxes get broken into. And I heard that some college students lit an outhouse on fire for fun, some time ago. And I’ve been told the only people that start shit are ones that are drunk. I’ve never had someone confront me. I mean this is my first year in the main watchtower, but I’ve volunteered for the past four years for a few weeks during the summer and never had anything bad happen."

"Why would someone attack me? I’m just doing the job."

"I don’t know."

"Could the teens have told a friend and they wanted payback?

"I-I don’t know."

"Why is someone writing down our conversations?" Chloe thought for a second. "Do, do you have, like, an ex? Or... I heard you say ‘Leo,’ is he your son? Is your ex pissed off with you or somethin’?"

"What?! No, no. Leo is my pet turtle. I don’t have an ex... I-I’ve never… d-dated anyone."

Chloe kept thinking. "Then why or how… whoever is listening to us... I thought the Services didn’t tell anyone their frequencies. Like the cops, you stay off their frequencies or get a fine or somethin’ if you interfere."

"The Services don’t have that type of power over frequencies. Not many people up here use radios and if they do it’s like radio etiquette if someone has a frequency, to move to a different one. There are tons to choose from, no need to be a dick... it would take time to go through each frequency to see if someone is talking, but it could be done."

"Well, it seems someone has taken the time, Angel."

"Like I said, it takes time to do that, just for the fact that we don’t talk all the time. They could pass our frequency when we’re not talking and not even know we use it."

"Or… they could break into a tower and find out the frequency that was written in a new Watcher’s welcome handbook package."

Angel whispered, "Jesus Christ. Wait... it was the teens that broke in, though, right? They had your shirt. Jesus, did they actually have someone come up here to watch and assault you? I don’t like this, Chloe. I don’t like you being out here by yourself with this shit going on. This job is not supposed to be like this. I’m gonna talk to the other Watchers for a sec to check up on them. Your radio is just by my side with the volume up. I’m here, okay? I’ll be a few minutes."

"I’m used to being on my own and I’m dealing with the situation. Go deal with your employees, over and out."

Angel immediately replied. "You’re not my employee, Chloe."

Chloe didn’t answer.

\-------------------------------

Chloe got back to her tower only for a moment to grab some much-needed water and something for her headache. She looked at Bluebeard as she took a gulp of water. She spoke to Angel, "The fire doesn’t seem to be going down. I thought there would be, like, water planes trying to put it out."

Angel quickly came back, "Ah no, they usually will try and let the fire burn out on its own by doing some controlled burns around the area. Fire is a good thing for a forest. It’s weird to say, but it is. It gets rid of dying trees and rotted things n' the ash has lots of nutrients and minerals for plant life. There are cones that actually need heat to release their seeds."

"Right." Chloe didn’t seem to care about the knowledge as she picked up her pack and left the tower.

\-------------------

Once Chloe crossed the Ruby River. She opened up another cache, finding another Ron and Don note.

_Ron,_

_Really wish the powers-that-be could issue us radios that didn’t suck ass._

_Most of the time I’d prefer to keep things to pen and paper but every_

_once in a while, it’d be nice to get a hold of you right away._

_My sister keeps leaving my messages at the main gate but I don’t_

_think she gets that I took the job so I wouldn’t have to deal with her_

_or Mom. I’ve been sitting at the spot for a while now thinking about_

_what to say to her, but I’m a quarter way through this bottle of Jack_

_instead._

_Miss you._

_-Dave_

Chloe closed the box and continued on. _Sorry, Dave, it looks like Ron would rather get his dick wet with Debbie than to hang with you… I know what it feels like._ Chloe spoke into her radio, "I found the controlled burn area. They came really close to burning a cache box."

"Normally they wouldn’t do that so close to a body of water, because with no plant life around to act as a natural barrier it can change the river’s path. I think they’re extra-worried about the fire jumping the river. Hopefully, with the burned area and the river, it won’t jump into the Two Forks sector."

"Hope it works, then."

"Me too. If you keep heading Southeast of the river you’ll see a pond."

"Right. What happens if a controlled burn gets out of control? I mean, these guys are actually playing with fire."

"They’re not playing, believe me, if a controlled burn gets out of control there’s hell to pay and people will get fired. If a camper gets hurt or worse, then there are lawsuits."

Chloe walked up to a small lump of dried earth.

"There’s some old snowmobiles out here. Thought this place closed up for the winter."

"The park technically never is closed. The campsites, along with the towers and front gate, are closed. A few Rangers stay on for the winter season. Anyone can enter the park at any time."

"Whoever had to ditch the snowmobile had a long, really long walk out. Wonder why they never came back to get it? It looks kinda old, a lot of the parts are missing."

"Guess over the seasons there must have been hikers or campers that saw something they could salvage and sell?"

"Hmm, maybe, but how many campers do you know that carry a toolbox with them?" Chloe walked a few yards away. "I think I might be at the pond. There’s a post with no sign, but I’m not sure, it’s nothing more than a big puddle."

"Yeah, Pork Pond has been slowly disappearing. And the sign kept getting stolen. Since both are disappearing, they decided not to put a sign up anymore."

"Pork Pond? Really?" Chloe kept walking.

"Yeah, I didn’t name it."

\-------------------------------

Chloe looked up at the old wooden carved sign.

"Seriously who names these places? Arapahoe?!"

Angel replied. "It’s your club, Scout. It’s been out there, like, forever. Think it’s from the fifties."

"It’s not used anymore?"

"No, guess there’s been a steady decrease in kids joining The Scouts over the years or decades, as it were." 

Chloe sighed, rolled her eyes and looked down, "And, of course, the bridge is down."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"That... is so not your fault. Figured if the fire team were out here they would’ve put up a temporary bridge or something. I’m gonna see if I can get down somewhere into the ravine... without breaking my legs, so don’t worry."

Angel lightly chuckled. "Thank you."

It took a few minutes for Chloe to find a ledge that she could get down without getting hurt. She was able to find a much easier way up from the ravine to the other side.

"Hmph, found an old totem pole. We had one back in my home town on the school grounds."

"C-Chloe?!"

"Yeah?"

.  
..

Chloe spoke into her radio again. "Yeah?"

.  
..

"Angel? What did you want?" Chloe asked as she walked forward and into the encampment. She didn’t get Angel back on the line, thinking that she was talking to another Watcher or had a call about the fire.

Chloe walked into what remained of one of the three shacks on the campgrounds and kept talking with Angel, knowing she had said that she would keep a radio nearby. "I’m surprised that these Scout shacks are still standing after all this time.

She continued as she stepped over some old planks. "They did a great job when they built them. Hope the lil’ dudes got their build badge or whatever badge it was."

Chloe walked around to another one and furrowed her brow, seeing an old rusted bear trap on the ground. "Jesus." She stepped back and looked at the ground around her. _What the fuck, are there any more around here?_ "So, yeah, I found a fuckin’ bear trap out here in one of The Scout shacks. It’s been set off, but Jesus, I thought it was illegal to trap in the park." She turned to leave and saw an old weathered missing person poster. She stopped and stared for a moment, then quietly left. _I hope you were found_.

The third shack was empty and barely standing. Chloe continued on into the campsite and walked through a wider pathway, seeing an old flag pole in the center of a clearing.

She noticed a trowel and a roll of toilet paper on a stump decided not to even go near it, then noticed a note left on a tree stump, held down by a rock. "Hey, I found a note from the Hotshot Crew from some dude, Grant Carson. It says… ‘dropping into the Thorofare," Chloe skimmed the note. "Blahblahblah on behalf of Dr. Simmons at Wapiti Station?!’" Chloe waited for a moment to see if Angel would speak. She didn’t. _Guess she’s still talking with the others_. Chloe continued on just in case she was listening and working at the same time, "Looks like this Doctor Simmons was worried about the wildfires coming into the fenced-off area. It still doesn’t say what he or she is doing out there." Chloe thought for a moment. _I was at the fence a few days back asking about it with you on the radio… and I was kinda near another part of the fenced area by the lake… Could there be something big in there? Like they found something… I was attacked. Could they… what the fuck is in there? Did the teens find something or see something?_ Chloe leaned down and placed the note back on the stump. _That backpack, hidden-_ When Chloe stood up she got light-headed and took a moment to get her bearings. _Fuuuck_. Chloe closed her eyes tight, took in a long deep breath then let it out. "Yeah, the fire crews are not here." She glanced around the area again. "Oh, shit... score." Chloe walked over to a tree where she'd spotted a fire axe lodged into the trunk.

"Someone left an axe behind." Chloe wrapped her hand around the handle and pried it out. "This will definitely get the job done."

Chloe left the camp a little heavier with the axe attached to her pack. It took a bit of time but she got herself down and out of the ravine again and started backtracking out of the Ruby River region.

Chloe hopped off a rock in the Ruby River to reach the other side when Angel came over the radio,

"Chloe?"

"Hey, is ahh, everything okay with the other Watchers and the fire?"

.  
..

Angel’s voice was not so positive. "Y-yeah…."

"What’s up, Angel? You don’t sound convincing."

"J-just stuff running through my head."

"Anything I can help with?"

"Ahh…"

"Angel, what’s up? You okay? I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a dick to you, it’s what I seem to do a lot of the time to people."

"Do you think that things happen for a reason?"

"Truthfully no, things just happen... it’s life. What’s got you thinking like this?"

"Ahh, I, told you I came up here to think things through and make a decision..."

"Yeah?"

.  
..

Angel didn’t speak, Chloe pressed the radio button. "Angel, talk to me. I’ll listen."

"I-I found out something about my situation and I’m scared of what the outcome will be. I’ve always been scared of what would happen. I just figured out something, I didn't believe it at first, but…" Angel's voice faded away.

"Angel, I don’t know what your situation is to really help you, and I don’t want you to say it since some fuck is listening in on us. But I know you’ve been tearing yourself up over whatever it is for years, and you’ve hurt yourself over it. I think you need to find closure for your own mental health and start to really move on. If it was me, I would need to confront the situation so that, good or bad, you would know that you dealt with it. This has been chewing you up for way too long. I know what it’s like to hold onto something because it’s hard to let go or face facts… I told you a small bit about Rachel. She… I… loved her and I wanted so much for us to be in a relationship. I was blinded by things that, when I think about it now, it’s clear as day to me. She never wanted a relationship, to, y’know, be my girlfriend. She didn’t want to be tied down, as it were. And I got jealous when she would hang out with friends at the school parties. I’m realizing that the relationship I had with her and what I wanted had made her become secretive around me, that she started hiding things. She started seeing someone and she kept it secret. She knew that I would get mad, cause that’s how I get when people let me down. Good or bad I should have realized and accepted what she wanted and maybe I would have seen what was happening. I can’t talk to her anymore and it hurts so much. I can’t tell her that I understand now… Angel, if you have the chance to tell this person something, do so or it will continue to eat at you."

Angel replied a few moments later, "I’m scared that she will… that I will finally know, to hear her say that she wants nothing to do with me because of what I did." Angel took a moment to get her thoughts together. 

* _Cough-cough-cough*_ "Ah fuck!"

Chloe stopped walking and looked at her radio. The cough and voice she just heard were too low.

Angel sat up and looked at her microphone. She whispered, "Chloe, was that you?"

Chloe whispered back, "No... no that wasn’t me."

Angel’s hair stood on the back of her neck. Chloe swore as she looked around the area she was walking in and placed a hand on her knife. "Fuck, Angel, who was that?"

Angel got up and closed her tower’s door and locked it. She quickly thought then pressed the microphone’s button. "It was one of the Watchers, they’re trying to get a hold of me. Listen, Chloe, I need you to go back to your tower and keep an eye on the fire from above."

"No, whoever hit me is behind that fence and I’m going to fuck them up."

"Chloe, the fire is turning. I need you to get back to the damn tower, now… that’s an order. Stay there till I get back to you. Do you understand?"

 _Guess me opening myself up didn't matter, you don't care either… why would you?_ Chloe replied, pissed off, "Yeah, right, I understand."

"Good Scout. I will contact you when I can... Chlo… be safe."

"Right. I can see my tower now."

"K, over and out."

"Yeah, whatever."

**\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**DAY 11**

****

Chloe stood outside watching the fire and how much it had grown. The smoke was already bothering her throat. It had started the previous night and any sleep was hard to achieve along with getting rid of her headache. She took another mouthful of water to clear away the irritation then lifted her radio again.

"Thorofare tower, this is Two Forks, calling you for the, oooh, fifteenth-time today, over." Chloe let go of the button again, waiting for an answer. She didn’t get one, so she repeated, "Thorofare tower, this is Two- for fuck’s sake, Angel, answer the damn radio!" The woman didn’t reply. Chloe turned and went back into her tower and sat at her desk, watching the smoke rise into the air.

\------------------------------

A half-hour later Angel cheerfully spoke over the radio, "Hey Scout, how’s the day going?"

Chloe looked at her radio with a mix of confusion and annoyance. "How’s the day going?! There’s a fucking fire just over the ridge and it’s- when the fuck can I get out of here?!"

"We’re not leaving, the fire is running parallel to us right now."

"Okay, then I can leave and go to the fence."

"No, you can’t. It’s fenced off for a reason, so stay out. I have something I need you to do, anyway."

"Angel, I’m not letting this go."

"Yes, you are. I told you I got the word out and once the Rangers are aware they’ll take care of it."

"I am not leaving it up to anyone to take care of it. I'll do it myself!"

"You will do as you’re told. You’re here working for me. So listen the hell up. You will stay out of that area. If I find out that you broke in, you’re fired, and I’m sure the researchers will sue your ass. Do you understand me?"

.  
..

Chloe swore multiple times and kicked over her chair. She turned and looked at Angel’s tower, The Punk’s voice had an edge to it once again, "Yeah, I understand, Boss."

"Good, I’m doing another supply run for equipment and certain things that we are supposed to have in the towers and since yours was broken into I need to know if you have anything missing from the tower that the Service owns that needs replacing. So take a look around as I start naming off things."

Chloe clenched her jaw. "Right."

"Wall clock, table lamp, water container, fire extinguisher, fire sand bucket, first aid kit, mattress and radio charger."

Chloe looked for each item and replied, "Yeah, they’re all here."

"Okay, thank you."

Chloe quickly added, pointing at the boarded-up window, "Ahh, how about the window that was broken? Y’know, when someone broke in?"

"You got that boarded up, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then it’s okay for the season."

Chloe threw her arm up in the air, frustrated and fed up. "Right, whatever, is there anything else, Boss?"

Angel sighed, "One of the Watchers cut himself really bad this morning and they’ve run out of supplies. I need for you to take your first aid kit and drop it off at a cache for him."

Chloe clenched her jaw then let go of some of her anger. "Yeah, okay. Where am I going?"

"Cache 307, I have another Watcher on their way to get it for him. I need you to leave now, please."

"Yeah, leaving now, Boss."

Chloe took her pack, attached her axe to it and then checked her hunting knife on her belt. _Drop this shit off and then to the fence. Fuck this job._

\-------------------

Chloe came to Ruby River once again. She crossed the stream and stopped at the cache box. It was the one with the missing person poster in it. She put in the code and found it locked. "I’m here at the cache, the padlock code isn’t working now."

Angel came back on the radio, "It’s a new one. The code is your birthday, month and day."

Chloe lifted an eyebrow. "How did you know my birthday?" _I never told her that._

"I know a lot about you." Angel cleared her throat. "I-I am your Boss after all."

Chloe put in the new code and opened up the box. She saw a note. ‘Chlo, use this and not your own, please trust me, I will explain!!’ Chloe felt a knot in her stomach and her heart rate went up. She picked up an old two-way radio that was in the cache.

Chloe closed and locked the box and stepped away. She hauled up the metal antenna and turned it on. "Angel?"

Angel’s voice had changed to worry. "Oh, Chloe! I lied yesterday about the person that was coughing, it wasn’t another Watcher. I don’t know who it was!"

Chloe felt the adrenaline run through her body. "What?!"

"I think it was that person that has been listening to us and who attacked you. I want you to use this radio. When you’re out of the tower, I don’t want whoever it is to know you’ve left the tower and are out walking around. Use your other yellow one for when you’re in the tower doing regular reporting."

Chloe immediately replied with a loud whisper, "This is fucked up shit, you know that?!"

"I know, it’s the only way I know how to keep you safe till the Rangers get into the area. So just right now, reply to your yellow one and say that you dropped off the first aid kit and are on your way back to your tower."

 _Jesus Christ._ Chloe pressed the button on the yellow two-way. "Angel, I dropped off the first aid kit, I’m on my way back to the tower."

Angel replied, "Thank you, I’ll add a new first aid kit to the supply run, over and out." Angel got back on the secret two-way, "Thank you, Chloe."

"When did you drop this off?"

"Last night."

"What?! Why didn’t you just drop it off at my tower? Or I could’ve met you at the Thorofare supply cache box! Jesus Christ, Angel, there’s no need for you to be running around in the dark with a fucking psycho on the loose!"

"I know the Forks area like the back of my hand and I had to do it at night so that no one would see me leave my tower and then the area. I would lose my job if someone saw me out of my area and in your tower. And I didn’t want whoever it is that’s listening to us to know that you went up far north and were on your own at night. So I chose the cache box that’s closest to you and furthest from the fence. I’m hoping they don’t know the location of the cache box number you’re at, either, since they’re not labeled on the outside."

Chloe just stared at the radio, "Jesus, Angel?! I… thank you."

"Like I said, Chlo, you’re my priority. And I know you’re strong-headed, you always have been. That’s why I know you’re already headed to the fence."

Chloe stopped in her tracks. She was.

Angel’s voice was quiet, "Chloe, I know you won’t listen to me, you have no reason to. But please don’t go there. I know someone hurt you and you want to get them back, but is it worth it? I don’t want you to get hurt, you’ve gone through too much already."

"Angel, I was pissed that someone attacked me, okay? I was. But seeing that pack there behind the fence and hidden away. I can’t walk away from that."

"Chloe, how do you know it’s one of the girls? One of the Watchers here has a red plaid one, it’s a popular brand and style."

"Angel, I can’t walk away from this." Chloe took a breath and controlled her emotions, then she walked at a faster pace towards the fence. "Rach… Rachel was taken by someone she trusted. She was drugged and held in an underground bunker where… shit happened. Angel, if those girls are there and they’re in trouble, I have to try to help them. I wasn’t there for Rachel when she needed me. I can be there for them."

Angel didn’t reply right away. She was trying to digest what she had heard. "C-Chloe... I..." she didn’t know what to say.

Chloe picked up her pace once more. "I’m not letting this go."

\-------------------

[Weezer - Memories](https://youtu.be/YGg_mVBqXVo?t=16)

[Pearl Jam - Crazy Mary](https://youtu.be/agBf56AGskk)


	5. Day 20

Chloe stood in front of the fenced-off gate again. She raised her axe and came down on the lock, easily breaking it. She picked up the two broken pieces and tossed them over a cliff, getting rid of the evidence. _The door was already open, officer._ She brought up her radio. “I’m in.”

Angel replied quietly, “Jesus Christ Chloe, please be careful.”

Chloe walked down the path seeing a mailbox on a post. She opened it to see a clipboard. “There’s a clipboard with a notification.”

“What does it say?”

_“Wapiti Station Personnel_

_If you are trying to reach Dr. Simmons, he will_

_be on-site from July 22 - September 21._

_University owned equipment is the responsibility_

_of Dr. Johnson of the Dendrology department._

_Government-owned equipment is under the purview_

_of Colonel Kat Ferdinand AOC 60W. Remember this_

_is a controlled area and any issues, malfunctions_

_or violations should be reported immediately.”_

Angel whispered, “Why is the military out here?”

“Ah, you’re asking me?” Chloe replied.

“Sorry, just thinking out loud.”

Chloe walked over to the hidden pack and opened it up. “Yeah, I can’t find a name. The pack has a first aid kit in it, some medical gloves, rope, and towel.” Chloe then looked into the front zippered pockets and took out a wristband. “I found a Lollapalooza wristband from this year. The doctors or the Colonel don’t strike me as fans of Snoop Dogg or Tool.” Chloe took the coiled rope out of the bag. There, on the bottom of the pack, was a small black box with two extended pieces and four metal bolts attached to each corner.

__

_What is this?_ She put it back in the pack then saw a black canvas, zipped up case. She opened it and froze. Her hands started to shake. There were three needles and two vials of clear fluid.

 _The investigation reported that the young woman was drugged and lewd…_ Chloe dropped the case back into the pack. “Th-there’s needles and vials of stuff, Angel.” _The young woman was drugged..._

“What? What type of vials?” Angel asked.

Chloe didn’t answer right away, lost in thought. “It’sss, I-I don’t know.” Chloe looked up at the trail leading into the area. She stood up to fast and became dizzy, she leaned over for a moment and waited for her head to clear. “I have to go in.”

Chloe came to a gap in a ridge. She jumped over without issues and took her time, moving down into the forest, always on the lookout for someone and a place to quickly get to for cover. She turned down the volume on her radio so that Angel’s voice wouldn’t attract attention. As she got further in, there was a small clearing. The area had a generator next to a twenty-foot metal rectangular framed structure.

Chloe quietly spoke, keeping an eye out, “I don’t see anybody around so far. There’s a communication tower here. Like, wireless stuff.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s, like, a twenty-foot tall transmission tower. They can probably listen to whoever the hell they want. And it’s short enough to be hidden in the trees; you and I or anyone around wouldn’t see it.”

“Chloe, please, you don’t have to do this... please turn around.”

“I can’t. Just stay off the line. I’m going further in. I’ll let you know what I see.”

Chloe slowly moved forward and down, listening to everything around her. When the path opened up ahead she decided to move off the trail and stealthily continued forward. She waited for a few minutes, watching. There seemed to be no one around the short grassy area. She walked out of the brush and toward the encampment.

Chloe quietly spoke, “There’s another monitoring tower half the size of the other one.” She walked next to what looked like a locker with a round device on top with green flashing lights. Next to that was a tripod with another device that was beeping. “There’s all sorts of contraptions and shit out here; there’s a couple of gas cans, I guess for the generators.”

“What are they? The contraptions, I mean?”

“I dunno, it’s like a metal box on a tripod. There’s wires all over the place.”

“Could it be, I don't know, weather equipment?” Angel asked.

“This would be the weirdest weather equipment I have ever seen.” Chloe took out her disposable camera and started taking pictures “There's a large, burnt patch of land here that's been gridded off.” Chloe took another picture. 

“What burned the ground?”

“I don’t know, it’s like maybe twenty by fifty feet. Why would they do that when there’s a fire ban in the park?”

“Are there any digging tools there?”

“No. None.”

Chloe turned and looked at a big canvas tent in the area. The lights were on but no one seemed to be around. She stood at the opening of the tent and looked behind her, then inside the tent again. “There's a large canvas tent here…" She took another glance behind her shoulder. "Their tent has been trashed like my tower. Cans of food have been tossed to the ground. There's three cots and their bedding has been messed with. A clothesline with clothes hanging from it and paperwork all over the floor, too.” Chloe looked over her shoulder again before she stepped in.

“Chloe, Jesus, I’m shaking here.”

Chloe let out a nervous breath of air. “I am too.”

“Is there any indication that the girls were there?”

“No, none so far.”

Chloe placed her hand on the cast iron stove. It was barely warm. _Probably used this morning._ “Everything has been left behind. All their camping equipment n' food.”

Angel replied, worried, “That is kinda normal, you don’t want to drag stuff back and forth to a site, right?”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t you make sure to turn off your generator’s timer so the electricity wouldn’t turn on and close the canvas tent before you left?”

“Y-yeah.”

Chloe looked at the work desk that was there. “There’s a desk with paperwork scattered around and stuff knocked over like someone was looking for something in a rush. I have never seen this type of electrical equipment they have here, this isn’t stuff you get from Radio Shack.” She took another picture then looked behind her for anyone coming. "It's I dunno recording stuff."

Angel asked, “Does it look like some type of monitoring device?”

“Yeah, maybe, but monitoring what? If someone attacked me then there's something they’re trying to hide.”

“Are there any type of logos or indication of what it is? I would be a hell of a lot happier to see a NASA sticker somewhere.”

“No.” Chloe picked up a clipboard. “I’ve got a clipboard with another report here…”

Chloe looked at the chart. There were five columns with information, her eyes widened. “Jesus, th-they been tracking our movements?!”

“What?!”

“Angel, I’m looking at a chart that says ‘Subject, Location, Frequency, Sex, Social Role and Description.’”

“C-Chloe, get out of there.”

“Listen to this; ‘Subject 4002: Female, Frequent departure from Two Forks. Note: monitoring has been halted. Subject 7331: Female, Stays in Thorofare area. Note: monitoring has been halted. Subject 4938: Male, Unreciprocated desire to copulation. Left the Two Forks and Thorofare area. Note: monitoring has been halted.’ There’s more. ‘Subject 4793: Female, In Two Forks, Jonsey Lake area with Female 3890.”

Angel asked. “I-is that us and the teens?!”

Chloe didn’t answer, she was looking at a bulletin board with a map on it and thumbtacks placed in certain areas in Two Forks. There was a red string tried from thumbtack to thumbtack. _I was in all these places._ “There’s a map that has all sorts of paths and areas marked off on it. There are lines that look like some of the paths I normally take.”

“Jesus, Chloe, are you positive it’s you?!”

Chloe looked back out the tent door and replied, “This is fucked up.”

“Chloe, get out.”

“Where the fuck are these guys? What are they doing?”

Angel loudly whispered, “I don’t want you running into them! Get. Out!”

Chloe turned to leave and saw a military box on the floor. She opened it. “Hey, I found a handheld device. It has a small antenna by the side of a square box with a handle. It has a toggle switch and a button.” Chloe flicked the toggle switch and clicked the yellow button a few times. It turned on and started beeping. “There’s a digital display that tells you the direction and it beeps with a bunch of flickering lights.”

“Yeah, I hear it.”

“I know it is some type of compass, but what it is beeping for?” Chloe turned around and the beeping quickened along with the pitch. “Auuh, it’s beeping faster and higher.”

“I can fucking hear it, I don’t care... get out!”

Chloe didn’t listen and she walked to where the device was leading her, back into the tent and towards the desk. Chloe cleared off the paperwork. “There’s another small black box like the one in the plaid backpack. I don’t know what it is... there’s a switch.”

“Don’t touch it.”

“I clicked the switch and the beeping stopped.”

Angel replied angrily and loudly whispering her words, “What the hell did I just say?! I said don’t touch it. And what do you do? You fucking touched it! Chloe fucking Price you are to turn your butt around and leave now that is an order!”

Chloe didn’t leave she never even heard Angel’s remark. Her full attention was on a binder she just found on the desk. It had masking tape stripped across it and labeled. 

**Subjects:**

**Angel**

**Chloe**

Chloe’s hands shook when she opened the ringed binder. “Jesus... th-there, there’s a binder with our names on it...” Chloe opened the binder and turned the pages, she slowly spoke, “It’s a report about us, an observation report.”

**********************OBSERVATION REPORT**********************

**SUBJECT:** Chloe / Scout

 **AGE:** 19 Unconfirmed.

**PROGRAM STATUS:**

1 week 4 Weeks 6 Weeks  **12 Weeks** 25 Weeks Annual

**OBSERVATION:**

  * Blue hair
  * Easily angered
  * Attitude
  * Hard worker
  * Recreational Drug use (Marijuana)



**PERTINENT OBSERVED FACTS:**

  * High school dropout
  * No children
  * Single (Previous relationship Rach/Rachel)
  * Jealousy issue (Rachel)
  * Weak relationship with mother and stepfather
  * Loner
  * Town lifestyle
  * Seeks physical retaliation when wronged.
  * Has gone through trauma concerning a friend/lover Rachel (Murdered)
  * Talks with Lead Watcher Angel about trauma



**SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MANIPULATION**

1 2 **3** 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

**OTHER:**

Distracted if angered and will not listen to orders

The subject had a relationship with a female, Rachel, who went missing and later found murdered

The subject has distanced herself from her immediate family

 ***** Ideal candidate. Has developed a relationship with Angel (Boss / BossLady) The subject is opening up to what has happened to her. Will keep under monitor

****CAUTION****

The subject is now carrying a hunting knife after the Two Forks tower break-in.

Chloe couldn’t believe what she had read. She whispered, “There’s stuff in here about Rachel.”

Angel quickly replied, “What does it say about me?! You said there was one about me.”

  
  


**********************OBSERVATION REPORT**********************

**SUBJECT:** Angel / Boss / BossLady / Real name unknown

 **AGE:** 18

**PROGRAM STATUS:**

1 week 4 Weeks 6 Weeks  **12 Weeks** 25 Weeks Anual

**OBSERVATION TRAITS:**

  * Reliable
  * Observant
  * Helpful
  * Communicator
  * Resourcefulness



**PERTINENT OBSERVED FACTS:**

  * No Children
  * Single
  * Fear of closeness
  * Loner (No friends in high school)
  * Pet turtle (Leo)
  * Plays acoustic guitar
  * Draws
  * Rarely hikes or leaves immediate surroundings
  * Has gone through trauma concerning a friend
  * Possibly self-harm from guilt from trauma
  * Talks with Chloe (Scout) about trauma



**SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MANIPULATION**

1 2 3 4 **5** 6 7 8 9 10

**OTHER:**

Ideal candidate. Has developed a relationship with Chloe (Scout) Subject is opening up to what has happened to her. Will keep under monitor.

“Chloe?”

Chloe furrowed her brow. “This is fucking insane! What the fuck is going on here?”

“Chloe?”

“Why is someone doing this?”

“Chloe, do you hear me?”

“What gives them the right to fucking look into my life!? Those motherfuckers!”

“Chloe Price!!”

Chloe stopped then looked at the radio. Angel continued with a calm voice, “Chlo, if you didn’t find the girls then I want you back at the tower now. You are to leave now, you hear me? You are in danger if these people have been tracking us.” Angel’s voice became harsh, “Get back to the tower now or so help me, I will come down there and kick the shit out of you myself.”

Chloe took the observation sheets and left. “I should burn this place down, motherfuckers!”

Angel quickly replied, “Do it, whatever, I don’t care, just get back to your tower, now.”

“I’m leaving.” Chloe had left the tent and didn’t realize the sun had gone down. _Fuck!_ She left at a quick pace, leaving her flashlight off.

\-----------------------

“K, I’m outta the fenced area. I’m gonna head up through Thunder Canyon. Fuuck, I don’t want to go through that cave now.”

“I’m here with you. I’ve tried to get a hold of Spruce station to start a radio tag but they’re not answering their damn radio. There’s a group of college students that are camping in his area. He’s probably checking them out. Jesus, gonna get an ear full when I get a hold of him.”

“Yeah, but what are you going to say? If you tell them about this stuff, they, whoever that is, will know that I found their site and that they know that we know what they were doing. And will he even believe you?” Chloe closed her eyes hard trying to wrap her head around what she was thinking. She put her hand on her forehead and trying to rub away another headache coming on.  
“Jesus, Chloe, what do we do?”

Chloe pressed the radio button to reply. There was the sound of a loud pop behind her and she turned in the darkness to see what it was.

“What was that?!” Angel asked.

“I don’t know. It kinda sounded like a-” Chloe’s eyes widened, they reflected an orange fireball explosion that went up in the air before her. “Jesus, there was just an explosion that went off in the fenced area!”

“Chloe, I was kidding when I said you could burn it down!”

“I didn’t do it!” Chloe snapped back.

“Sorry, sorry, I... fuck. Just go, keep going, be careful! I have to get a hold of someone to report the explosion. Jesus Christ, what’s going on?!”

There was a sound of a tree branch breaking and Chloe looked in the direction with a hand on her knife. “I’m going, I’m going.” Chloe picked up her pace, every few yards she would look over her shoulder to see if she was being followed. The trees swayed in the wind and with the low light, she found herself looking at shadows unsure if it was a tree or someone behind her. When she got further away from the fence only then did she turned on her flashlight.

\-----------------------

Chloe hauled out her knife when she got to the cave entrance. She could hear her heart rapidly beating in her chest. She took a deep breath looked behind her with her light, not seeing any movement she turned and looked inside. _Fuck Fuck Fuck_. Then took a step forward.

Chloe made it through in half the time, fighting her fear to turn around and check to see if she was being followed. She left the cave coated in sweat and ready to throw up from stress. By the time she got back to the tower, she was all but exhausted and light-headed. She had informed Angel she was back.

Angel asked, “Can you see the fenced fire from there?”

“Yeah, barely.”

“Okay, use the Service radio and call it in.”

Chloe went to the Osborne Fire Finder to determine the fire’s location and picked up her yellow radio. “Ah,” Chloe tried to calm herself before she spoke again, “Thorofare tower, this is Two Forks tower, come in.”

“Hey, Two Forks, what’s up?” Angel replied.

“I’ve spotted a new fire…”

Chloe reported the new fire, playing along for the moment. When her performance was over she took off her pack and got two glasses. Her mind was racing over scenarios driven by fear. She wrapped two glasses up in a towel and broke them with the bottom of her boot into tiny pieces, then grabbed a bag of trail mix. She quickly went outside and placed glass shards and trail mix on some of the steps going up the tower in different areas. If anyone were to come up she would hear them. Chloe went around and closed all the weather shutters so that if the person got to the top they wouldn’t be able to see in. She then took the sheets off her bed and nailed them over the door window. Chloe shut off her generator and her tower went dark. She closed and locked the door and once again put her desk in front of the door. She unlatched her axe and placed it on the floor by the bed, then took out her hunting knife and sat down on the floor. There she remained still in the complete darkness and listened to the world around her.

“I’m with you, Chlo,” Angel whispered so quietly over the radio.

“I’m with you too, Angel,” Chloe whispered back.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DAY 21**

Chloe woke with a start. Her body had leaned too far to one side on the floor and she almost fell over. She jumped, holding on to her knife and looked for an intruder before her. Chloe came to her senses, she turned on her flashlight and pointed it at the wall clock, seeing that it was early morning. Chloe winced in pain from a headache, pain in her back and the numbness of her butt and slowly got to her feet, feel sore everywhere.

She peered out through one of the slits in the planks of wood that she had nailed to the window frame. It was dark outside. She leaned back and looked at the clock again to see if it was working. The second hand was moving. Chloe picked her watch up from the desk in front of her, it was indeed early morning.

Chloe pushed the desk back to its original spot. She then went to the bed, sheathed her knife and picked up her axe. She unlocked the door and was met with smoke. _Does it ever fucking stop_? Just as she had the thought, the handheld compass she had stolen last night from the fenced area started beeping. Chloe went to the secret radio. “Angel, this compass thingie I got started beeping again. There’s smoke everywhere and it’s dark... I can’t see the sun. The new fire has spread.” She let go of the radio button as she kept looking at the device. Chloe was red-eyed with dark circles around her eyes from barely sleeping again. She still wore yesterday’s clothes, her hair was a mess and she slowly swayed on her feet from her head, tiredness and lack of food. She pressed the radio button again. “Good morning, by the way.”

Angel replied on the official services two-way radio, “Good morning, Chloe, can you give me a report of the fire in the Mule Point area?”

Chloe looked at the secret two-way then at the yellow one, then back at the one in her hands confused for a moment. She leaned on the desk and slowly blinked as she pick up the Service yellow radio. “Fire has grown and it’s moving toward me. It’s irritating my throat and eyes.”

“Okay, if you need a mask and goggles, check the Fire Services box in your tower. I’ll relay the condition.”

Chloe stared at the beeping device. She then slowly walked to the Fire Service box and opened it. Inside there were masks, a pair of work gloves and goggles. She put them on and held the side of her desk, feeling dizzy once more. She walked to the small fridge under the counter and took out a sports drink and drank half its contents. Then she ate a can of tuna, staring at the fire and listening to the beeping sound of the device. _What did it find? Is it the teens… Is it picking up the black box that was in the plaid pack... It's not pointed in the direction of the fenced-off area. Someone has the pack and is moving.”_

Chloe stumbled while changing her clothes, think about the contents of the pack. _Medical gloves, rope, needles_. She put on a pair of cargo pants, a shirt, then a wool flannel long-sleeved shirt. She tied a bandana over her head covering her hair then strapped her axe onto her pack and knife onto her belt. _I have to find them._ She put her pack on and left the tower, hearing the crunching sound every few steps she took on the way down. When she reached the ground she headed west, letting the beeps guide her.

\-----------------------

About ten minutes onto the trail she veered off and headed in a southeast direction off the path. After two minutes on the new path she was forced to stop. “Angel? Thhhere’s a rockslide on this path that I took.” Chloe spoke in a monotone voice.

Angel replied immediately, “What?! You’re out of the tower?!”

“The device is beeping, it found something.”

“I don’t care what you found, get back to the tower!”

“I can’t, it could be one of the teens. They were tracking us, this thing could find them.”

“Chloe, we don’t know for sure.”

Chloe furrowed her brow and tried to ignore the dizziness she felt again. “I have to know… Rachel was in a bunker for days, drugged.”

“Chloe…” Angel stared at her microphone, unsure what to say.

“I’m on a path heading south and north of the Ruby River. The trail leads almost east.”

“That’s the Thorofare Trailhead.” _She’s moving away from the fire_.

\-----------------------

Chloe listened to the beeps of the device quicken. She followed the audio trail into some deep, dense bushes and came to a rock wall. There, leaned up against a tree and some large rocks was a tan backpack. Chloe picked up the pack and was frightened from a loud pressure alarm that was tied to the tree and was set off. She swore and hauled out her axe and smacked it, breaking the shrieking alarm.

“Jesus Christ!” _Why the fuck, why is this here? What the fuck is this?!”_ Chloe opened the dropped pack and searched it finding another black box. _Another one_. She switched off the device and her stolen tracker stopped beeping. She rubbed her neck, trying to clear her fuzzy head and ringing ears and took one last look in the pack searching every pocket finding a key. _Is this the key to the fence?_ The key was engraved with the number 452 and was attached to a strange metal peg. “Angel, I found what was making the beeps.”

Angel quickly replied, “What was it? Are the girls around?”

“Nnno... I found another pack with a black box inside. There’s a key with a weird peg thing attached to it. It’s black n’ steel. It’s, like, half the size of my hand and thin. It’s folded lengthwise with a loop at the end and it’s stamped with a ‘4’ and under that, it says ‘L14.’ On the side, it has a diamond with another diamond within it and stamped with, ‘CE0333.’”

“That’s a double black diamond climbing peg. You hammer them into the cracks of rocks and loop your rope or use a carabiner to clip on n’ climb up or down.”

Chloe left the area as she spoke. “K, the key attached says ‘452.’”

“452?”

“Yeah, 452.”

.  
..

“Chloe, that’s the key to the cave in Thunder Canyon.”

Chloe stopped in her tracks. “Did th- did they take the girls and bring them to the cave?”

“Chloe… Chloe, that’s insane. There's no proof that the girls are there.” Angel’s voice was not convincing enough for Chloe.

“The black box was in her plaid pack; they were tracking them, I saw the report.” Chloe stopped and her eyes darted around, thinking. She immediately took off her pack, opened it and dumped everything to the ground, looking for a black box. _Are they tracking me!_

"Chloe, I need you to go back to your tower for your safety, please.”

“Yeah-yeah, look through your stuff for a black box!”

“Why?”

“The report said they were tracking us, and the map I saw showed where I was going. It even said that you never leave your area. There has to be a black box in your pack that they use to track you. It can fit in your palm.” Chloe tossed things out of her pack that hadn’t fallen out when she turned it upside down. She then started to look through every pocket.

“Chloe, I didn’t find one.”

“Fuck, I don’t have one, either.”

“Chloe, you’re not thinking straight.”

Chloe coughed a few times as she thought then came back on the radio, “The report I read said that our monitoring was halted.”

“I-” Angel looked down at the notes she had taken. “‘4002: Female, Frequent departure from Two Forks. Note: monitoring has been halted. Subject 7331: Female, stays in Thorofare area. Note: monitoring has been halted.’”

“They’re only tracking two people now,” Chloe stated.

“Chloe, it can’t be the teens.”

“Then what is it? Why does this person have a key that has been lost for years in their pack and a tracking device?”

“I-I don’t know. I really don’t know. None of what you’re telling me makes sense.” Angel sighed with frustration. “Okay, at least you listened to me and you’re back in your tower, so stay there.”

Chloe stopped walking and looked at her radio. “I’m not in my tower, I’m still on the trail.”

“What?”

Chloe looked in the direction of her tower. “Angel, I’m not in my fucking tower!”

“W-who the fuck is in your tower?!”

Chloe ran. “I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out!” _Motherfuckers! Not going to get away with it this time!_

“Chloe, don’t!”

Chloe turned down her volume and ran through the trails. She was about a five-minute walk to her site... a two minute run away.

Chloe crouched in the bushes and looked up at her tower. She quietly whispered, “Are they still there? I’m just hiding outside the tower.”

“No. They’re gone. They fell down the stairs. It looked like they were limping away.”

Chloe left the bushes with her hunting knife in hand and walked to the staircase. She saw drops of blood. “Whoever it was, they’re bleeding.”

“Oh shit.”

“I covered most of the steps last night in trail mix and broken glass so that I could hear someone walking up the steps.” As Chloe climbed she saw where the person had fallen; there was a clearing of the stuff she had laying around. “Fucker fell and cut themselves. It looks like it was pretty bad, too.”

Angel opened her mouth to speak and stopped, trying to take in what Chloe had done last night. She didn’t know if it was crazy or smart.

Chloe got to the top step and cautiously walked forward. When she reached the door, she stopped. There, taped to the door, was a portable cassette player.

_What the fuck?!_ Chloe sheathed her knife and looked down at her surroundings, searching for any movement. She removed the cassette player and put the headphones on, then pressed play.

The Punk listened to a bad recording; it was her and Angel’s conversation from last night.

‘I should burn this place down, motherfuckers!’

‘Do it, whatever, I don’t care, just get back to your tower, now.’

‘I’m leaving.’

Chloe froze and her heart pumped rapidly. She tore off the headphones and they fell to the ground. Her speech was slow as she spoke into the radio. She was trying to understand what was happening. “There was a Walkman taped to my door. It’sss... it’s a tape of us from last night, our conversation. Th-they know our frequency.”

Angel replied, floored, “What, I...”

“A-Angel, they made… it makes us, me... it makes me look like I’m the one that started the fire in the fenced area and that you were okay with it.”

“What?!... No!”

Chloe looked on the ground at the headphones she dropped. She grabbed the wire, hauled them up and placed one earpiece on the two-way radio. “Turn up the volume and listen.” Chloe rewound the tape then clicked the radio button and the Walkman play button at the same time…

.  
..

“Did you hear it?” Chloe asked.

.  
..

“Angel, did you hear it?” Chloe rewound the tape again, thinking that the woman didn’t hear. “Angel?! Did you hear it? Fuck we- I’m screwed… Angel?!”

“Y-yeah,” Angel replied quietly. “This is not happening... this can't be happening!”

Chloe didn’t have a response; she just looked out at her surroundings. She didn’t know what to do.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Day 22**

Chloe watched the wall clock minute hand move again. She slowly got to her feet and held onto the table and closed her eyes waiting for her head to stop spinning. _Why won't this go away?_ She coughed and cleared her throat then pushed the desk back from the locked door. She opened the weather shutters once more and stood in her tower with the headphones on, looking at Angel’s tower. Angel had gone quiet, not answering any of Chloe’s questions or remarks after yesterday’s discovery. The sound of the tape rewinding played in the Punk's ears. She listened to the recording again. Once it was finished she rewound it again and pressed play. She kept doing it over and over, letting it play out as she thought.

_Why were the teens being followed?_ ‘I should burn this place down, motherfuckers.’ _< <<<< ‘_I should burn this place down’ _ <<<<<_ _Why were we?_ ‘I should burn this place down, motherfuckers. Do it, whatever, I don’t care, just get back to your tower, now.’ _ <<<<< ‘ _ Do it, whatever I don’t care.’ _ <<<<< They followed them to their campsite. Did they attack them there and drug them? <<<<< ‘ _ Do it, whatever, I don’t care.’ _ <<<<< and fake the note? Did they make it look like the site was attacked by a bear? It has to be more than one person, how could they carry two drugged girls? _ ‘I should burn this place down, motherfuckers.’ _ <<<<< I haven’t heard an all-terrain vehicle. _Chloe’s eyes glazed over. ‘I should burn this place down, motherfuckers.’ _ <<<<< Their parents reported them missing, where are they? _ ‘I should burn this place down.’ _ <<<<< _ ‘this place down’ _ <<<<< _ ‘place down’ _ <<<<< _ ‘down’ _ <<<<< ...the teen was taken into an underground bunker, underground bunker, underground Chloe! Help me! Please help me! I never left you!_

Chloe’s eyes burned from staring for too long without blinking. Her body stood, unmoved. She dropped the Walkman and the headphones came off her ears and fell to the floor. She picked up her pack and left with one destination in mind.

“Chloe, I see you leaving the tower. Where the hell are you going?!” Angel asked over the secret radio, speaking to her for the first time that day.

.  
..

“Chloe, answer me. Where are you going?”

When Chloe reached the ground she brought up her radio and unemotionally replied, “They’re in the cave.” She put her radio on her belt and walked forward with Angel telling her not to leave.

“Chloe, you don’t know that!”

Chloe didn’t answer. She moved quickly down the path.

  
\-----------------------

A few minutes later Angel came back on the radio, “I just got a report. Someone claiming to be C.Price in Two Forks radioed another watcher and said that I knew who caused the fire.”

“I don’t care,” Chloe replied.

“Chloe, they think that there’s an arsonist out there!” 

“Angel, I have the key to the cave and I’m going there. I can find out if they’re... what’s down there.”

“No, you need to go back.”

“I can’t leave her.”

"Her?… Chloe, you need to stop."

Chloe had climbed down into the cave and walked toward the gated locked door.

She turned on her flashlight that was strapped to her pack then took out the key. She opened the heavy, squeaking door and walked through, leaving it open. “The key worked. I’m in.” 

Angel didn’t reply. Chloe put the radio back on her belt and walked further in, listening for anything. She wondered if she should call out to the girls. _Maybe not there could be others around._ Chloe walked around a corner; to her left, the tunnel was caved in. Light peeked in from a crack in the ceiling, enough to help her see better. There, at knee level, was a black peg hammered into a rock. It was the same type that was on the cave key. Chloe looked down in front of her at the long drop below. “Jesus, that’s a long way dow- what is that?” She knelt and squinted then took her flashlight off her pack. There, far below, was a piece of red fabric.

Her attention changed when she heard something slam from behind. “What the hell?!” She turned and ran back. The door had closed and locked. Chloe tried to put the key in and found that something was jammed in the keyhole. “What the fuck?!” She tried to pick at it with her fingers but couldn’t get it out. “Angel!” Chloe panicked. “Angel! Someone locked me in, there’s something jammed in the lock, I can’t get it out!” There was no reply. Chloe took out her axe and placed it in between the door and the gate. The heavy, thick steel didn’t budge. She tried to swing her axe but found the cave was too narrow in height and width. “Fuck!” she yelled out. “OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” She tried over and over to wedge open the door with the axe. The thick steel didn’t even bend a centimeter. “Fuck!” Chloe took a step back. _The light!_ She turned and ran back into the cave, where the cave-in had occurred. She was careful to walk over by it to bypass the long drop.

She wedged her axe in between two rocks and hauled back letting them fall to the ground. Over and over she slowly opened up the passageway. More light came in. Her heart quickened at finding a way out. She moved more rocks away and, when she could, climbed up, only to see that the tunnel continued further in. The hole that the light came from was out of reach and too small to climb out of. “Fuck fuck fuck!” Chloe made the decision to go through. 

\----------------------

Chloe’s body had cooled enough in the cold cave that she began to shiver. She climbed up and over small ledges and was guided with light from cracks in the cave’s ceiling. A few tense minutes later she saw a small tunnel opening and light coming in. She quickened her pace. “Oh, God! She crawled on her hands and knees. She took off her pack, wedged herself through and escaped the cave.

She scurried through to the outside then leaned back on her knees and breathed in a lungful of smokey air. She coughed over and over and placed her mask and goggles back on. “Angel!”

“Chloe, where the fuck are you? I’ve been calling!”

“Someone locked me in, they jammed something in the lock so I couldn’t use the key. I couldn’t get it out. I had to dig through a cave-in and I followed another tunnel through to a small exit.”

Angel was almost in tears. “Chloe… Ch…” She couldn’t speak.

Chloe looked at the radio. “I’m out, Angel. I’m out...”

“Please come home.”

“I saw a piece of red fabric in a shaft that went further down.”

“What?”

“Yeah, someone is down there.”

“Where are you, exactly?”

Chloe looked around. “I dunno where I am, I don’t recognize this spot.” She stepped up on a rock and walked to an overhanging boulder. There she made a discovery. One of the walls was covered in chalk drawings that looked like bricks to make it look like a castle. A dragon flew overhead, blowing fire at the wall. “I found a… fort? Someone made a fort out here.”

“Like a treehouse?”

Chloe looked around the small area, picking up and inspecting things that were left behind. “No, no, there’s, like, old Batman comic books here and handmade cut-out flags. Crayons… D&D player sheets.”

“A kid’s hideout?”

“Yeah.” Chloe picked up a journal with a name on it and thumbed through it, seeing superhero doodles. “It’s Brian Goodwin’s, the pack that I found with the ropes had that name on it.”

“Oh, okay. It's not really important right now Chloe.”

“This was his hideout.” Chloe looked around more. “There’s a lot of his stuff left here.” Chloe moved an old square piece of plywood with a drawing of a family crest. “Oh wow, there’s an old Game Boy here."

"Chloe, you have to go back to your tower, please."

Chloe wasn't thinking straight. "His dad must have been pissed that he left it behind.” Chloe looked at the other items on the table. “I found a Ham radio manual, a small canvas bag of those climbing pegs and a note Brian left for the Rangers.”

“I… What does it say?” Angel asked.

_Dear Ranger,_

_Hi my name is Brian Goodwin. If you found this note it should be with a_

_bunch of climbing anchors I hope. Could you do me a favor and return_

_them to me Brian Goodwin in the mail. My address is 55 Foxtrot Lane_

_Eugene, Oregon 69101. If you tell your name and address I will give_

_you a reward for this. You are probably wondering why I left them_

_here. Well they are my Dads and I don’t want him to lose them but I_

_don’t want to do any more climbing on this trip. He gets mad that I can’t_

_do it because I am not strong. He told me I have to build muscle. But I_

_don’t like to climb so I thought I would pretend to lose them. If you give_

_them back he will be happy._

_Thank you for your time_

_Thank you, Ranger._

_Brian_

_P.S The Reward will be good._

Chloe added, “Looks like the kid didn’t like climbing.”

“It’s been a few years, but from what I remember, his father, Ned, was strict with him, saying that he had to learn outdoor camping and survival. He liked doing some of it but, like any kid, there’s a limit and he would just play his games.”

Chloe scoffed, “His dad wouldn’t happen to have a crew cut and a stupid mustache.”

“Yeeeah, how did you know?”

“Hmph, the jerk that my mother hooked up with and married had the same cut and ‘stache, must be a military thing.”

“Come to think of it, Ned’s pack was an army one, along with some of their gear.”

Chloe looked around the hideout for a few minutes to calm herself. She didn’t like what her conscience was telling her to do. She picked up the bag of pegs and took a deep breath. “Angel, I’m going back in.”

Angel replied harshly, “No! No way! You just said someone locked you in there!” 

Another Watcher spoke on a different radio, “Spruce to Thorofare…”

Chloe spoke, “Angel, there’s someone down there. I’ll be okay.”

Angel retorted, “Bullshit! Someone fuckin’ locked you in there!”

“Spruce to Thorofare, come in,” The man called out again.

“Chloe, just wait. Give me one second, please.”

Chloe replied, “You have two minutes.”

“Spruce to Thorofare, come in,” The man repeated.

Angel pleaded, “Just wait, one of the towers is calling, just hold.”

Chloe waited on her knees by the small entrance to the cave. She lifted her goggles and wiped her eye, feeling so drained. She put the goggles back on and sat still with her thoughts. She slowly blinked and then closed her eyes.

_I’m so tired._

A soft loving voice guided her. _It’s okay, Chloe, it will be over soon._

_K._

_You have to be strong, it’s almost over._

Chloe slowly nodded.

 _Chloe, go down there, please. I need you to go down there_.

Chloe opened her tired eyes and crawled back into the cave.

.  
..  
...

*Radio static*

“Chloe, I just talked to Spruce tower, they got word from the Ranger that the two teens were found. They went to a friend’s cabin just south of here… Chloe?... Chloe!... Angel to Chloe, come in… Angel to Chloe, come in. Chloe Price, come in…” *Radio static*

Chloe arrived back at the drop. She put her goggles on top of her head and lowered her mask. She checked to see if the peg that was already hammered into the rock was in there good enough to hold her weight. She took a steady breath and tied the rope through the loop then lowered herself down.

When she reached the bottom she went over by the red fabric, finding that it was a bandana. She pocketed the item and continued on, listening for anything.

The air became colder with every few yards she walked. She climbed down two ledges and walked around a corner. She stopped and froze.

Sunlight from high above shone down into the dark cave, illuminating a body on the ground. 

Chloe’s adrenaline spiked. She immediately took out her knife and listened for anyone around. She looked behind her, seeing nothing but darkness. She turned again at the body on the ground about thirty yards from her. She took a cautious step forward with her hands shaking and heart racing. 

When she got close enough, she noticed the shorts and a Batman shirt. Her heart dropped and the words barely got out of her mouth, “Oh no…” She took a step forward and sheathed her knife. “Oh God… no.” She moved closer within feet of the small body. She put a hand over her mouth to fight the tears and sobbed. “Oh God!” A frayed climbing rope laid next to the body of the child, whose head was covered by a few rocks. The body was somewhat preserved from the cool and dryness of the cave. One of their sneakers was off and lay a few feet away with a name written on the tongue of the sneaker. _Your rope broke_. Chloe looked up to the ledge where the boy had repelled from, then back down at the body. _Oh God, I am so sorry_.

Chloe took a moment to try and compose herself. Her hands shook as she pressed the radio button and looked up the long shaft to the lights above beaming down upon her.

Chloe's voice was strained, “Angel?... Angel, I need help.” Tears fell and she sobbed once again. "Angel, please…" Chloe tried to stop herself from another sob. "I need help." Her call was not being heard.

Chloe looked down into the darkened cave. The climb back up where she repelled was going to be long and hard and knew she didn't have the strength anymore. She cautiously stepped over the body diverting her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered then walked into the darkness hoping to find light and a way out.

The pathway led upward and she noticed the tunnel was a little worn. She found an old pop can, a sign that people had been here. She kept moving and twenty minutes later Chloe climbed a ledge and came to a small opening. She wedged herself through and found herself above on the outside of the locked, closed gate door. Chloe carefully lowered herself down and shuffled towards the exit, feeling numb.

  
  


*Radio static*

“-oe come in!”

“Angel?” Chloe replied, exiting the cave and made her way slowly to her tower.

“Chloe! Jesus, I told you to wait! Those two teens were found safe and sound. Though I know their parents are gonna be yelling at them. Why didn't you wait? Are you okay?!”

Chloe replied quietly, “No… no, I’m not okay.”

Angel replied concerned hearing Chloe's tone. “What happened, did someone hurt you?!”

“Y-you might want to sit down.”

“What... what did you find, Chlo?”

.  
..

Angel asked again, worried, “Please tell me you’re okay...”

Chloe leaned over on her knees, suddenly feeling dizzy and nauseous. It took her a moment to reply.

.  
..

She spoke quietly, “Y-you need to call the Rangers or S-search and Rescue.”

“Search and Rescue? Why?”

Chloe gritted her teeth and found with her emotions. “There’s a body in the cave.” She put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing. “It’s a kid.”

“What?!” Angel was shocked.

“It's Brian...Goodwin. His rope broke and he fell. The body has b-been there for a long time.”

There was silence between both of them.

Angel eventually replied quietly, “Hike back to your tower, Chlo, please. I’ll pass along the information.”

Chloe didn’t object. “Yeah… yeah, okay.” 

\-------------------

Chloe walked into her tower without closing the door behind her. She slipped off her pack and let it drop to the floor. She walked to the bed, laid down then wrapped herself in a blanket. She curled herself up not able to hold on anymore and let go of months and months of emotional turmoil.

Angel spoke to the nearest Watcher to pass along the message. She watched Chloe through her binoculars when she reached the clearing to the Two Fork’s tower. She saw the girl slowly climb the stairs and collapsed onto the bed. Angel quietly spoke, “I relayed the message... Chlo, I’m sorry you had to see that… I’m so sorry.” Chloe didn’t reply. Angel looked away from her binoculars and didn’t push for Chloe to talk. With the lack of sleep, stress and emotional build-up, Chloe had let go of everything. She was lulled to sleep by an acoustic guitar. 

\-------------------

Into the late night, she heard a soft voice once more. _Hey, Chloe_. Chloe’s eyes just barely opened. She could almost smell her perfume and feel the way she would curl up behind her at night. _Thank you… I know it’s been hard... and I know it still hurts. It’s okay._ Chloe slowly blinked and a tear trickled from the corner of her eye to the bridge of her nose. _You will be okay, I promise you…_ She felt the warmth around her. _It’s time to let yourself heal, Chlo, it’s okay to move on... I will always be with you…_ Chloe felt a light pressure on the side of her neck just below her ear. _Someday, get yourself down there... put your toes in the ocean for me, okay? And watch the sunset with her by your side. I love you._ Chloe’s heavy eyelids closed again and her tower remained still and silent.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Day 23**

Chloe woke up with an airplane flying over the tower and someone calling out to her on the radio. She looked outside, seeing the color of yellow and orange with black smoke. She coughed and put her mask on and was around her neck. She sat up in bed and looked around her tower. The winds that came through the doorway that she hadn’t closed last night were strong and warm. The fire had come closer and worsened overnight. Chloe lifted the secret radio, finding that it was dead. She painfully got to her feet, went to the desk and took the other out of the charger. She groggily called. “Aangel?”

Angel's voice was soft and carrying. “Hey Chloe, sweetie, you have to listen to me. I need you to pack up your things, quickly. The fire has worsened and it’s time to go.”

“Okay,” Chloe simply replied.

“I need you to hike north. You remember the supply food cache you got up there?”

“Yeah.”

“K, I need you to get up there. You remember the thing you found that you said it looked like a big clothesline?”

Chloe nodded and leaned on the desk. “Yeah.”

“Good, I need you to use the tram to get across the ravine and get to my tower.”

Chloe replied again with another nod, “Okay.”

“Good, I’ll be watching you from my tower, let me know when you’re leaving.”

“Okay.” She replied again with a single word.

“I know you’re tired but you can make it, I know you’re strong, Chlo.”

Chloe slowly blinked, “Okay.”

Chloe looked around her tower. She didn’t have the strength to carry everything she came with. She grabbed some clothes, water, beef jerky and some trail mix and placed them in her pack. She then grabbed her journal, cameras and took the two pictures off the window and desk of loved ones. Chloe looked at them for a moment before she put them away. After placing the Walkman in her pack, Chloe took one more look around, then closed the door and left her tower behind. She re-tied the bandana over her head to protect herself, then lowered her goggles over her eyes and made sure her mask was in place. She braced herself against the warm winds and walked down from the tower. She used a hand to steady her tired body as she descended. “I’m leaving now.”

Angel replied, “K, I’ll watch you till you’re out of sight in the woods. Be careful, please, Chlo… you’re important to me.”

“K.” Chloe replied. Each step she took physically hurt her body… her mind was running on autopilot.

\-------------------

Chloe kept a steady pace as she walked in the strong winds created by the forest fire. Hearing radio static on her two-way, she took it off her belt and attached it to her pack and turned up the volume so that it was louder than the wind around her.

“Chloe?” Angel’s voice was loud.

Chloe matched her voice for her to be able to hear it over the wind. “Yeah, I’m here.”

When Angel replied there were multiple radio conversations in the background. “I’m coordinating with the evac team. It’s official, all towers are to evacuate. Keep moving north to the tram. I’m still around my tower, talking with the other Watchers, Rangers and the evac team to get the campers out of the park.”

“Okay, I’m about halfway or so.”

“Okay, keep moving.”

“K.”

\-----------------------

A few minutes later a male voice came over Chloe’s radio, “Chloe Price. This is Ranger Thomas, I need you to go east to Hawk’s Rest. There is a rope for you to climb.”

“What?” _Where’s Angel?_

“Hawks Rest, turn on your device and follow the beeps and get to the rope.”

"Where’s Angel?” There wasn’t a reply. Chloe took out her map and turned on the tracker she had stolen.

\-------------------------

Chloe reached Hawk’s Rest and walked toward the high rock wall. She spotted the rope hanging down, as she got closer she saw her name written in chalk on a rock a cassette tape attached to the line and a leather collar with two black boxes bolt to it. She paused for a moment and looked around. “What the fuck?”

Chloe placed the headphones over her ears and pressed play to listen to the new tape. She looked for any movement around her in the smoke. The man’s voice on the tape drew her attention away. “Yeah, hi, Chloe. Hope you found this before it burns up.” The man scoffed, “We’ve been causing each other a lotta headaches. Now I gotta go stake out a site that’s as fit for livin’ like the one you’re about to find. You’ll get it when you see it, just climb up and follow the path... You can’t blame me for keepin’ an eye on ya. Not after bumpin’ into you your first night here, down by the cave... For fuck’s sake I’ve been up here for three years... and you fuck everything up in less than a month. I kept it cozy y'know. Winters are harsh as hell and I ran out of books. But I got an antenna rigged up and I would listen to everyone. I got too comfortable, I stopped worryin’ about you findin’ anythin’ out and that’s right when everythin’ went to shit with you two." He scoffed again. "Jesus, you two and your theories of what was going at the fenced off site. Lay off the weed and learn more will yah. Then again, you were partly right. It was a research site; they were studyin’ the Serotinous cones and how long it takes for the seeds to actually sprout when the ground and the seeds are burned.” He scoffed again, “The friggin’ back boxes are for tracking deer that have been collared. One of the scientists was keeping track of a few of them in the area, they weren’t keeping track of you two at all.”

“However, you were close to the other thing; the military.” He swore, “Don’t ever join the military, it will leave you fucked up and you will never recover…. You were right, there was someone listenin’ to you and Angel’s conversations. It was me and the military, neither of us knew the other was listenin’ to you two. I just wanted to make sure you stayed out of the cave. My stupid mistake of leavin’ my shit out by the lake… sorry for hittin’ you. I wrecked those girl’s campsite, hoping that you would get blamed for it and fired since you tossed their radio into the water. But I guess those two idiots didn’t report you when they left. I fucked up and forgot to take the key out of the pack when I went to your tower to leave the Walkman… I thought I could scare you into leaving... when I locked you in the cave… Jesus Christ, you went back again. Do me a favor, listen to Angel or you’ll get yourself into more trouble than what you can handle... As for the military, it was a project they didn’t tell you or anyone at the park about. They're listening and documenting… they wanted to know how strangers interacted with each other when they are physically alone for weeks at a time; the effects of isolation. From what I read in their report I found, it’s a big project they have going on in other parks across the states. They’re even listenin’ to a research station up in the Arctic. God knows what the fuck they're actually doing… I have their documents if you want to report them…” He scoffed, “Yeah, like the fuckin’ military will account for what they do to people.”

His voice angered at his own change of subject, “You two don’t have any idea about raising kids. Nobody knows nothin’. It ain’t all sunshine and fuckin’ rainbows. There are things that we have to do as a parent because it’s the right thing to do. We have to teach you stuff and you gotta just listen... you gotta know I didn’t kill Brian, alright? We were climbing, he was a thin kid, and small for his age. His mother never looked after him right, she was more worried about her next fix. I wanted him to get strong, y’know. I was teachin’ him to push himself, to take care of himself. He just didn’t check his equipment. I told him multiple times to always check…"

"I thought about goin’ back, having to answer questions and havin’ to get him put in the ground, and I didn’t see the point. They would’ve blamed me and tossed me back in the mental... Don’t come lookin’ for me, I’m long fucking gone… I’m sorry about Rachel, no one you care for should die like that.”

The recording ended.

\---------------------

Chloe stood at the top of the ledge, staring at the Walkman, not believing what she just heard. _Jesus Christ_. She walked ahead through the dense tree path that thinned out to the top of a high hill. There were high boulders around to give the area protection from the wind but also from watching eyes.

There was a pile of rusted metal trash to one side, discard rusted propane tanks that were the same kind that the towers had, old lawn chairs and other things that were scavenged throughout the years. Chloe spotted a door made of the park’s signs on the ground. She lifted it and saw that it was a bunker that led underground. She walked down.

Chloe stood and looked at what was in front of her. Over the years, Ned had stolen from the park and from campers. Chloe noticed new camping equipment packed to the side. It was some of the teen’s stuff. There were stacks of novels and magazines; a clothesline was drawn across the room with clothes on it. Chloe took out the disposable camera and started to document what she saw.

There were packs and boxes against the wall. Ned had stolen just enough that people would think that they had lost it somewhere or that another camper might’ve taken someone’s gear. Ned had a workbench off to the side and Chloe noticed the radio she had tossed into the lake was there and taken apart. _He was fixing it._ There was a car battery with two big white propane tanks next to it along with a camping stove. 

The natural bunker on the far side was an opening to the elements from the other end. 

Ned had never built a wall to close the bunker off on the far end. Chloe stood at the edge of a ledge looking out over the forest and then down at drop off from the mountain. A lawn chair was set up to look out over the area. Next to that was a table with a ham radio on it. _That’s what you used to listen to us._ Next to it were the notes Ned had taken since Chloe had arrived and a binder with what the military was doing. She placed it all in her pack and looked out toward the forest seeing that the winds had picked up and the smoke was becoming thicker. Chloe turned, took out her camera, and took as many pictures as she could then left the bunker and headed north at a quicker pace.

\-------------------

“Chloe, where are you?” Angel asked worriedly. In the background, there was the sound of a helicopter.

Chloe, in a jog, breathed heavily. She pressed the radio button, clipped to the shoulder strap of her pack, “I, ahhh... _*Heavy breathing*_ by where the line- _*Heavy breathing*_ went down.” Chloe stopped and covered herself as the hot winds gusted around her and the trees to her side lit on fire. She started running, gasping for air. _Fuck, everything is going up!_

Angel talked to the pilots on a different radio as Chloe overheard, “Yeah… no. There’s one more. Yes. Here, yeah. She’s coming. Go get them and come back around.” Angel came back on Chloe’s radio. “Helli’s are here doing their final pickups.”

“Angel, you get on that helicopter, you hear me?!” Chloe stopped for a moment and stronger winds blew, she sidestepped to keep her balance. “You get on that helicopter!”

Angel replied, “Chlo, I’m not leaving without you.”

“Angel, you get on it now, don’t you stick around for me!” Chloe shielded herself again from the winds as Angel replied, “I’m -ot -eavin -ou --ain!”

Chloe, with her arm up by her face, watched some small tree debris fly by. She winced as she felt the fire’s heat close in. “AArrRHhh, fuck, that’s hot!” Then watched as a helicopter took off from Angel’s watchtower area. _She’s going to be okay_.

\-----------------------

Chloe reached the tram, finding that the basket had been hauled over for her and she got in. She hauled herself, hand over fist, above the ravine as the wooden and metal basket swung side to side in the strong winds. “Jesus, please don’t fucking break.”

“Chlo, keep goin- it -ill -old.”

“Angel?! Goddammit, why didn’t you leave?!”

Winds blew again. “-m no- lea---g till yo-’re --re!”

The basket swayed and bounced with the added weight. “Oh fuck.” Chloe looked back and forth at the cable on both sides of the ravine as they groaned.

“I -ave a choice -ow. Back -hen I --dn’t, but I do now.”

“What?” Chloe replied she braced herself from another gust of wind blowing debris and fire embers. Chloe winced at the heat. “Fuck!”

Angel continued, upset. “-- I’m sorry f-r -eav-ng -ou.”

Chloe started hauling again, she couldn’t directly hear Angel over the winds. “What? You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I sorr- fo- -eaving -u -hat day… I plea--d -ith mom and da-…”

The muscles in Chloe’s arms burned as she moved the basket and her across the gap. “What are you talking a-” Chloe stopped. The tram swung back and forth, she stared wide eyed thrown back into an old memory…

_She stood next to her mother, staring at her father’s coffin. Her mother, by her side, quietly mourned. Chloe felt so much sorrow and needed to be comforted. Her best friend stood off to the side. It was happening again and Chloe couldn’t make it stop. Someone else was leaving her. She heard the girl’s mother whisper that they had to leave, and this time it was for forever._

_Her smaller brunette friend, dressed in a black dress, paused for a moment and looked at Chloe. Chloe wanted to be held by her and be told that she wasn’t leaving, that she would stay and be there for her. Her friend tried to speak but no words came out to comfort Chloe. She looked at her parents and whispered as her tears fell. “Please,” she pleaded, hoping they would change their minds. They didn’t. In the corner of her eye, Chloe watched as her best friend, her pirate partner in adventure, the girl she had known all her life, look at her one last time... and then she was gone._

_Joyce put her hand out to touch her daughter, to give her and herself some comfort. Chloe made a small step to the side, away, not wanting anyone to get close to her heart ever again. She closed her eyes and squeezed her fists. It was too much, all too painful. The world of a child had slipped away..._

Angel watched the tram rocking side to side. Chloe had stopped moving. “Chloe, you have to keep moving-” Chloe didn’t move. She stared at her hands holding the tram's cable. _It’s not her_. A water plane flew close to the treetops overhead. “Chloe, please, you can hate me all you want. I know what I did is not forgivable. Please start moving, it’s just a little more!”

Chloe furrowed her brow, confused, _She knew my last name._

Angel pleaded, “Please move.”

 _She knew my birthdate... Because she has my paperwork for the job, the Services probably gave it to her...It’s not-_ Chloe shook her head _._ “It’s not you,” she spoke quietly.

Angel softly replied with a known nickname, “Captain…”

Chloe’s stomach clenched and her knees almost buckled.

Angel pleaded once more, “Captain, please start moving again... please, Chloe, you need to keep moving, the fire is right behind you.” As the girl spoke another radio called in. It was another helicopter. “Thorofare, this is N0921 we are here for the last pick up, you need to be at the platform. The fire is too close. If you don’t get on now you have to make a run for it down the mountain. Over.”

Angel replied, “If I’m not there, leave. I’m not leaving her behind!”

Chloe heard the voice again. “Chloe, it’s just a little further; you’re almost there, a helicopter is on the way. Please come, please.”

Chloe hauled the wire to move ahead a little.

“There you go, keep moving, you’re only feet away from the ledge. Then follow the path…”

Another water plane flew overhead. “K, you’re there, step out… and come to the platform. I’ll be there waiting. Chloe, I’m not leaving, not without you, I promise you. We’re getting off this mountain together.”

Chloe stepped off the tram and onto the other side of the ravine. A gust of hot wind pushed her forward. She turned to see the fire with thirty-foot flames engulfing everything on the other side. _Go to her, Chloe_. Another gust of wind pushed her back, Chloe raised her hand to shield herself from the fire embers. She turned and walked up the hill as old memories came flooding back...

_A short brunette tween looked up at Chloe standing on the bed. “That was truly amazing. Why are explosions so awesome?!”_

_Chloe, with her long blonde hair, looked down, hopped excitedly. “That's like asking why are puppies cute? Some things just are.”_

Chloe’s feet moved quicker on the trail.

_'Permission to come aboard, Captain Bluebeard.'_

Chloe went into a jog going up the steep rocky hill.

_'You know what, Max Caulfield?'_

Chloe ran around the watchtower built on large boulders.

_'What, Chloe Price?'_

Chloe came around from the other side of the watchtower.

_'You're the frickin' best. That's all.'_

Chloe stopped for a moment at the top of the hill, looking down at a girl wrapped in protective goggles and a mask, looking back up at her, twenty yards away. The girl’s pack that was on her shoulder dropped to the ground.

Chloe ran forward.

Chloe stopped in front of the girl. Her short brown hair blew wildly in the wind. Chloe looked down at her, past the goggles. _I know those eyes._ Chloe slowly lifted her own goggles and placed them on top of her head, then lowered her mask. Her face that wasn’t covered was layered in black soot. The girl standing in front of her sobbed and reached out but didn’t take hold of Chloe. She drew her hand away, scared. Chloe reached forward and carefully raised the girl’s goggles to her forehead. She looked back and forth into those deep blue eyes. Chloe’s slowly lowered the girl’s face mask, seeing tears fall. With her hand quivering it hovered over the girl’s cheek, afraid to touch it, afraid that it was all just a horrible nightmare. That she would wake up in the junkyard hideout or on her truck’s seat, hungover from a night of drugs and drinking. 

Glassy deep blue eyes looked up at Chloe. The girl’s voice was a whisper that was taken away in a gust of wind. Chloe watched the girl say her name, “Chloe,” as another tear fell. Chloe’s hand gently touched the face with the spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She felt her heart clench. _You’re here, this is real_. Chloe slowly lowered her head against the goggles resting on her childhood friend’s forehead. Her thumb caressed the freckled face. _It's you_. She wiped one of the girl’s tears away for her and saw lips tremble. Chloe slowly took a small step forward, wrapped her arms around the smaller frame and held the girl close. Her head leaned down and she whispered in the girl's ear, “Max.”

“Chloe,” Max sobbed, wrapped her arms around and held Chloe tight as her body trembled.

A helicopter flew close overhead and hovered for a moment, then started to descend. Max winced at the strong winds and Chloe turned herself along with Max away from the helicopter winds to act as a barrier, protecting Max.

Once on the ground, the pilot motioned for the girls to board. The side door slid open with a few campers already seated inside waving at them to come. Both girls turned, Max felt a hand in hers as they stepped forward.

Chloe helped Max get onboard first then she followed. The two sat on the floor as the helicopter doors were closed and the aircraft elevated. They stared for a moment then Chloe held out her hand and Max took it and crawled over, sitting sideways between Chloe’s legs. Chloe wrapped her arm around Max for a second then leaned back and took off her own goggles and removed her mask entirely. She paused for a moment, looking at the big blue eyes watching her. Chloe gingerly took off Max’s goggles then helped the girl take the mask off over her head. The two looked at one another... five long years. Chloe, wide-eyed, was trying to comprehend everything at that moment. A tiny smile briefly appeared. She then lowered her head once again and Max leaned on her. The side of the taller girls’ jaw rested against Max’s forehead. Max guided her arm around the side of Chloe’s ribs and grabbed the girl’s shirt and held on. Chloe wrapped her arms around Max to keep her close. The two remained silent during the flight; their bodies jostled around with the movement of the helicopter and the winds. Chloe felt her body relax and her heartbeat slow. She closed her eyes and let herself feel the love that she had never forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> **Other stories, check em' out** | **Music Playlists**  
> ---|---  
> [Adrenaline](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22131271) | **Life is Strange - Pricefield**  
> [And That's How I Would Do It](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24501835) |  [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ohME6aIJFML0ekXf0nZzF)  
> [Belly Button](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25683547) |  [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNcn8xzWbTEZzA99kgxVbMBcylMw3On6v)  
> [Chloe Claus](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306863) |   
> [Life is Saw](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20893310/chapters/49664687) |   
> [Moving Forward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24871243) | **Chloe Price - Priceless**  
> [Social Distancing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24266878/chapters/58484278) |  [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1oQOVxgWOdH03rrjTUC8eR?si=zp73LwzyS16j2VedBOUCow)  
> [Tagged](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23817673/chapters/57227440) |  [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNcn8xzWbTEY_YbjrjTAH5znCwDScqoUD)  
> [The Chase **NEW!**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25479217/chapters/61805629) |   
> [This Action Will Have Consequences](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18360968/chapters/43474439) |   
> [Watchers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919501/chapters/60305110) |   
> | 


End file.
